Perry Mason a Honeymoon and a Murder
by susan cousineau
Summary: Check out my video of the honeymoon on you tube perry and della love me tender
1. Chapter 1

The wedding of the day had come and gone. The rice had been thrown and Della Street Mason had married the man of her dreams the day

before . Perry Mason was a kind and generous man who deeply loved his wife. He was a famous attorney and was off on a seven week

honeymoon.

The cruise was going to be on one of the most prestigious ships on the sea and Perry and Della were set up in one of the large suites with a

private balcony and all the amenities. They had a hot tub right in the room and Della was going to make sure that she and Perry made good use

of it. Perry looked around the suite and liked what he saw. It had a large sliding glass door that went out to the balcony . There was a fully stocked

bar and a huge king sized bed in the middle of the room. The view of the ocean was amazing and he knew that their honeymoon was going to be

something to remember.

There were flowers all over the suite. Everyone had sent flowers and best wishes to the couple . There were bottles of champagne and chocolates.

Among all these were the two five dozen roses that Della was sure were from Perry. The room smelled like a floral shop and Della couldn't wait

for their honeymoon to begin.

As the two of them took their seats in the living room area of the suite Perry put his arm around her. "Here is to be our new home for the next

seven weeks. I hope you like it."

"Oh Perry it is beautiful. There must be so many things to see and do on the ship. The balcony and the view. We can eat out there sometimes I

bet." Della told him and then leaned over and gave him a kiss.

It was then that there was a knock on the door and the men came in carrying the luggage. Della had brought five bags and Perry had brought four

with him. They were going to be gone for seven weeks and they wanted to have all the things they needed. The workers put all of their things away

for them and Perry gave them a tip for the work that they did. They were all friendly and made sure that Perry and Della had everything that they were

going to need.

Perry took a look around and picked up one of the brochures with a list of what was going on the ship during the trip. Tonight was the going out to sea

party with dancing and partying that would go on through the night almost. Once he and Della got sick of the party they could go back to their suite and

enjoy the privacy of their large balcony.

The ship was to leave at five and it was four thirty so Perry and Della headed up on deck to wave good-bye to the people who were standing at the pier

watching the big ship as she left. It was a tradition and although neither one of them had anybody there that they knew they went up to say good-bye to

land. They would not reach Hawaii for a week.

The going away party was fun and they even joined in on a couple of the games. They did the limbo although Perry was unable to go down very far and

then they danced the locomotion. They partied until after midnight and then headed back to their suite. Even though it was late they went out on the

balcony and held each other tight as they watched the stars glitter along with the lights of the ship. From the balcony they could still hear the music of

the party and they had their own party of their own.

Della had chosen a special gown for the first evening that she and Perry would be spending on their honeymoon. It was a pale blue floor length gown with

a matching see through robe overlying it. As she stepped out of the bathroom Perry looked up with genuine awe and approval. The gown that she had worn

on their wedding night had been beautiful. He had thought that she would not have anything any more beautiful, but was pleasantly surprised. This choice

of a nightgown was every bit as nice as the one that she had worn on their wedding night. As he came to her and put his arms around her, he felt the love

that one can only explain as full. He wanted to be with her and he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. It had been a long night and they had finally clibed

into their honeymoon bed at one that night and stayed in bed until eight the following morning. It was a late morning for either of them

as they both were used to be up and on their way to work before eight every morning during the week.

Getting up on board a ship in the middle of the ocean with the woman you love is something that Perry Mason had dreamed of. As he got up and looked

down at Della who was still sleeping with love. She was the lady of his life and he could not wait to spend the next few weeks with her alone and in the

privacy of a world where there was no work just pleasure.

The two spent a long while out on their private balcony and had coffee made by their private butler. They watched the water and laid back in

their comfortable deck chairs together. The weather was warm and the sun shone onto the two lovers who had worked hard to find the love that they had.

They sat there for over an hour and then decided to make their way down to the breakfast buffet. Della had learned from her last cruise that she should

have brought with her sensible clothes and shoes, so she chose a nice pantsuit to wear for this day. The buffet was wonderful and as they sat outside on the deck

they took in the sun and the salty air. Afterwards they both went up on deck and sat outside where they could meet other passengers and listen to the music. Della

and Perry both went in the pool and then sat down on the deck chairs and enjoyed more sun.

There were things to do no matter where you went on the ship. They had decided that they would join in on some of the things that were made for

couples such as them. There were card games trivia games dancing contests, so many things and Della wanted to do them all. Perry was not sure if

he was in the right condition for some of them but he was a trooper and would try anyways.

That night they went to one of the many theaters on board and enjoyed the show. Once again they arrived back at their suite very late . Della wanted to

try out the hot tub and Perry joined her. It was a wonderful hot tub and in the privacy of their own suite they decided to not wear any clothes when

they sat in it. The jets were so soothing and the bubbles felt so good that they both did not want to get out. They rested and relaxed, but hugged

and loved each other together in the hot tub as only a man and a woman could.

The next few days were much the same as the newlyweds got used to sharing their lives completely. It was a match that had been made in heaven

and the two of them did not stay apart for more than a few minutes. Each time they walked the deck they held hands and laughed as they met other

people on the ship who were on their honeymoons also.

By the fourth day of the honeymoon cruise Della and Perry had made good friends with Carla and Barry Drew. They were from the city of Boston, Ma. He

was a police officer and she was a nurse at one of the local hospitals. They had made the best of friends and Della and Perry felt as though they had been

friends with each other for a long time.

Barry's brother Jim was stationed in Hawaii and Barry was looking forward to seeing him. "We would like to have you come and meet him too. He has

been stationed there for almost a year now and I haven't seen him since he left for duty." Barry invited them.

That night Della and Perry decided it was time to try some on board bingo. There was a free cruise credit of five thousand dollars for the grand prize and

Della could not resist the chance. Barry and Carla came over and sat with them. They were big bingo players and had been playing the entire cruise. It

was the fifth game and Della won fifty dollars. They all played to the end of the games, but no one else won. It was fun and Della and Perry vowed to play

at least once more on the cruise.

That night it was another dinner and dance. They chose to have their dinner at one of the tie and suit restaurants that the ship was famous for. They both

enjoyed dressing up and they had not had a formal dinner since their wedding. Most of the meals were included in the price of the cruise, but the restaurant

that they chose that night was extra. That is when Perry decided to go all out for their dinner that night. He ordered the best of champagne and prime

rib. Everything was delicious and he and Della had a wonderful dinner. This time the special dance was dances from the forties and Perry and Della had a

great time. Perry requested that the band played their wedding song "I will love you always" and they danced to it slowly. It was going to be their own

dance forever he hoped. They met other people on the cruise and once again did not get back to their suite until way after midnight.

Della had chosen many negligees to wear on her honeymoon and this night was no exception. She came out of the bathroom dressed to captivate her

husband and it worked. Perry smiled at his sexy loving wife and took her in his arms.

Della smiled up at him and asked "I could not decide whether or not we should have fun in the hot tub once again or just go to the bed. It is too tough

a decision for me. What would you like?" she teased him.

Perry looked at Della and smiled. She was so pretty standing there in the long gown, Perry thought that he could eat her up right there and then, but

he bent down and kissed her passionately. " I think that it is time for bed." he laughed and picked her right up and placed her on the bed. Again it was

a late night at the Mason suite.

To say that the time on board the ship was wonderful was putting it lightly. Perry and Della had many hours of sun games and music, and when they were

tired it was time for them to go to their suite and enjoy the time to themselves. The suite was a wonderful place for the privacy that any honeymoon

couple would appreciate. The next day the ship was going to be landing on the island of Hawaii and they both could not wait.

The ship would stay at dock for the next few days where everyone on the ship could visit the islands and take tours at their own leisure. They both

were looking forward to spending time with their friends and by themselves also. There was a going to be a luau the next evening and they had signed

up to join the fun. Perry was interested in the dancing girls after all he was human. He loved Della and would never even consider looking at another

woman for any other reason than entertainment.

As the ship docked Della was pleased to see that their suite faced the island. There were many shows that the people of Hawaii threw close to the ship

and she thought that it would be fun to watch them from the privacy of their own balcony. Della wanted to go up to the top for the arrival party. On this

ship there was a party for everything. Perry laughed as they hurried up to the deck to once again partake in the ceremony. There was liquor and food

for everyone and the two of them stood there and laughed along with their new friends Barry and Carla.

Della and Perry left the ship for the first time in five days and had to get their land legs back. They had not noticed how they had adjusted to the movement

of the ship and their legs were very wobbly as they stepped off the ship. This would be their day to explore as tonight they were going to meet Barry's

brother and join in on the luau.

The island was beautiful picture perfect as they made their way to the sightseeing bus that they were going to be raking for a tour of the area. The

bus was an outside bus with little protection from the heat and sun and Della was glad that she had brought lots of sunscreen with her. They stopped

several times and looked at much of the floral. Della and Perry had chances to get their pictures taken and then they went out for a Hawaii meal. The

food was delicious and they had a great time. When they got back to the ship, they barely had time to get dressed for the evening. As they came down

to the main lobby Barry and Carla were waiting for them.

The four newlyweds were off to a good time and laughed as they walked to the large party. It was there that they met Barry's brother Jim. He was a tall

dark and handsome man. He was twenty-seven and stood just over six feet tall. He introduced them to Mindy his friend and they all took a seat. It

was quite the party with lots of cheering and dancing. It was the first time that Della had ever seen Perry actually take his hat off and really get into the

fun of the party. He danced and sang and held her tight. It was a night that she hoped that he and her would never forget.

When the four of them finally arrived back at the ship Della and Perry were very tired. There would be no hot tub tonight. That would wait until the

following morning. Della got into one of her nightgowns and came out of the bathroom. She was surprised to find Perry standing out on the balcony

just watching the beach.

She came over to her love and put her arms around his waist. He turned and smiled at her. She was the most beautiful lady in the world and he was

the luckiest man to have caught her. He stood there on the balcony with her in his arms and kissed her passionately. They walked arm in arm to the

honeymoon bed once more.

The next day was spent on the beach. The beach was breathtaking and even though Perry disliked the sand in his toes he made up his mind that he would

make the best of it and enjoy the beach and sand with Della. Barry and Carla saw them and came over to take a seat on the blanket next to them. It

turned out that Barry was a good swimmer and he and Perry went out into the water while the girls stayed on the beach.

Carla and Della had not had much time to talk without the men around and Della was glad to have someone who she had become friends with here in

the fiftieth state of the union. There they were sitting on one of the most picturesque beaches on the island. Carla helped Della put sunscreen on

her back and shoulders as they watched the men enjoying the water. "I could stay here forever. It is so nice and Barry he is the man of my dreams." she

smiled happily.

"I know what you mean. When we get back to LA it will be back to work for us. It is a good life, really and that is how we met. I would never give up

working with my husband no matter what. But it is nice to get away for a while and seven weeks is like heaven to us." Della told her

"I have heard of you from the television and whenever they showed your husband on television you were by his side. I thought that you made a nice

couple even with the cameras. It has been wonderful getting to know the two of you. " Carla said with a smile.

The two women watched the men for a few more minutes then decided to go down to the water and join the men. The water was very warm and Della

did not have to test it with her toes first. The water was so clear that she could see her feet. Perry grabbed her and gave her a big kiss right there in

the water and she laughed. They went down under the water and looked at each other through the salty water. That burned her eyes a little but she

could not help but enjoy the time with her new husband.

As it came time for dinner the four of them were happy to see that the ship had a dinner all planned and ready on the ship itself. They were all tired

by this time but hungry. When they went back to their cabins to get ready for lunch, they agreed to meet each other at Perry and Della's suite in two

hours. Della wanted to take a nap but Perry had ordered their lunch delivered to the suite. It was a good idea, they would have some time to themselves

and they could rest together also. They had two hours and Perry headed out to the balcony to relax and watch the scenery.

Della laid down on the bed for just a few minutes and was surprised to hear the knock on the door. It was the man with their lunch. She had not

realized that she had fallen asleep for over half an hour.

Perry had looked in on his wife and saw that she was sleeping. He knew that poor Della was exhausted and had tried to get to the door before the knock

had woken her up but he hadn't been fast enough. The waiter brought the lunch out to the balcony as he asked and left them in peace. The view was

wonderful and the food was good and hot. They sipped lemonade and enjoyed their time together. That afternoon the two of them and their friends

would be going back to the beach. It was going to be another busy day.

Their friends came over to the suite right on time and Perry let them in. Carla was very impressed with the suite. It was much larger than their room

where they also had a balcony but it was only about 1/2 the size of Della and Perrys. They looked around at amazement at the hot tub and the fancy

furnishings. It was then that they realized how much above the Mason's than they were on the social ladder. But they were so friendly and hardly the

type of people that you would consider snobbish. They were both friendly and outgoing and the four of them headed out together to the beach laughing

and talking the whole time.

They found a good place on the beach and Barry and Perry thought it would be fun to try to build a sand castle. The two of them worked on it while

Della and Carla watched for hours. They had it made with two floors and a molt. They had made a tower and Della took pictures of the two of them

as they stood beside it with pride.

They all went in the warm clean water and enjoyed the surf. It was a wonderful hot day and they stayed on the beach until after five. They headed back

to the ship once again . This time they would see each other the next day. Della and Perry wanted to spend the night together in their suite. Perry

ordered a private meal on the balcony with steak baked potatoes and a large salad. Della and he would decide what kind of desert they would have later

on that evening. Despite wearing sunscreen they were both sunburned and very tired.

The hot tub was the place for them to relax and they both climbed in and sat together letting the jets beat on their skin. The water was very warm

and it was very soothing to their burns and sore backs and feet. Della thought that she was still young, but she wasn't as young as she used to be.

Perry on the other hand was aware that he was past thirty and the past few days had just affirmed that fact.

The night was wonderful and Della and Perry spent the night enjoying each others company. The view and smell of the ocean was wonderful and the

dinner was great. Tomorrow would be another busy day.

The next day Della and Perry woke to the ship moving to the next port. Barry's brother Jim had a car and he was going to take them to the base and

to see the wreck of the Arizona and the museum. They would get to tour Pearl Harbor something that Perry had always wanted to do. He had stopped

there once on his way to one of the trials of a Japanese soldier. The ship would be arriving sometime that afternoon so Della and Perry spent the day

on board shopping and then decided to go to the afternoon bingo.

Della and Perry were happy to see their friends Carla and Barry seated at a table and took a seat with them. The game was going to start in ten minutes

and the four of them exchanged hellos and told each other jokes. Barry enjoyed playing poker in board and asked Perry if he like to play. Perry was

not a big gambling man but thought that it might be fun to try a couple of hands after bingo. Della and Carla thought that they might go and get their

hair and nails done while the men were out doing their thing.

The game went on for about two hours and this time Barry won one hundred dollars. They laughed and enjoyed themselves . After bingo they all went up

on deck and took their seats by one of the tables. They all sipped their drinks and listened to the band that was playing some nineteen fifties music. The

sun was warm and it was after six when they headed back to their perspective rooms.

For supper they chose a more casual restaurant but got seats out on the deck. The food was good and the service was also good. Once more that

evening they went up on the top deck for some dancing. They danced until after midnight and concentrated on dancing to the slow dances on this night.

They were both had a great time.

After a couple of hours Barry and Carla had shown up and they took their seat with their friends. The pool was right by where they were sitting and they

watched as some of the couples enjoyed themselves swimming. Carla and Barry told them Jim would be coming by with his car at ten the next morning..

With that they departed company and headed back to their rooms.

Della was exhausted and was tempted to climb into bed without getting into her night clothes but decided otherwise. Perry was out on the balcony

enjoying his good night smoke when she came out of the bathroom. She smiled as she watched him and was thinking about going out and staying with

him when he turned around and walked back in.

Ten o'clock came early the next morning at the Mason suite and Della had just enough time to get dressed when it was time for them to leave to meet

Carla and Barry so that they could start their tour of the island with Jim. Thank goodness Jim had a van and they could all fit. Missy was with him and they

had big plans for the group that day.

The first place that they went to was the Arizona and it's museum. They all prayed for the men who had lost their life on that fateful day and for all of

the men and women who lost their lives during the war in the Pacific Ocean so many years ago. They looked at each and every exhibit and read all

of the horror stories of that fateful day December 7 1941. They had all heard the stories but to see the damage and the memorial was very moving

they all enjoyed the tour.

As they traveled around the island there was so much to see and so little time. Everyone was thrilled to be given a guided tour of the island and the

scenery by someone who lived there and knew the little places that were hidden from the tourists. They got to eat out at a place that the locals used

and stopped at places that the tourist bus would miss. It was a great day and Perry and Della insisted on treating everyone to dinner. Jim and Missy

knew of a great place near the water that was too small for the tour guides. There they ate and had a great time together. They would see each

other at least once more before the ship left in ten days.

Another night with dining and dancing and Della was ready for a day of peace and quiet. Carla and Barry had made plans to spend time with Jim for

the next day but they politely declined them. They would spend the day just relaxing. They had a beautiful room with a large balcony and Della had

bought a book to read. She loved to draw also and had been dying to draw some of the scenes that they had seen. She knew Perry had missed his

reading and so they needed a day from the vacation they were having.

That morning they got up and relaxed on the balcony. They had a good breakfast together and enjoyed the weather and the scenery outside of the

ship.

You could hear the sounds of the people on the ship and the music, but it was muffled. They were alone for as long as they wished and Della was going

to take advantage of this time. She sat down on the balcony next to Perry and opened her book. It was a good book and she read about four chapters

before she got up and took a stretch. Perry had been busy going over some of his many law books and Della felt more like herself. The honeymoon was

wonderful and she was the luckiest woman in the world, but she needed a break from her rest. They had not gotten to bed before one o'clock since they

had gotten on the ship.

They sat together in silence and enjoyed each others company. They were on their honeymoon and when you are deeply in love words are not needed. As

they sat together watching the lights and the sea they both found an inner peace that could not be denied. It was late in the afternoon when they went

back into their suite to get ready for dinner. They wanted a quiet dinner out on the top deck and then perhaps a little more dancing. They had gotten

ready and headed out to dinner a little after six that night. Because of the long leisurely day that they had that day they did have the energy to dance and

enjoy the music that night. They held each other tight and enjoyed the dance under the stars.

The week was spent on the beach, and in the sun. They rode bikes through the town and visited the Arizona Memorial once again. Their friends Carla and

Barry joined them on the bicycle tour and they had a blast. With all the things that they had been eating Della thought that her clothes might be getting

a little snug.

When the day came that the four friends were to go out with his brother Jim they decided to ride over to the other side of the island for the day. Jim knew

the area well and was glad to take them. Missy had lots of things to tell them about and showed them some more of the spots that the tourists did not know

about. It was their last day on the island and there would be another luau with fireworks that night.

Della and Perry had signed up for the other luau since they had such a good time at the last. They both were now dressing traditional Hawaii and when Perry

came out of the bathroom Della let off a small laugh. They were going to meet their friends Barry and Carla at the ramp in twenty minutes. Della did her

hair with a flower in it and they were off to another night of fun and laughs.

This time they were prepared for what happened and they watched as everyone danced and celebrated Hawaii style. This time Della got up and tried to do

the dance with the young women. She did not do bad as she had a great figure. Perry was thrilled as he and his friend Barry watched Della and her friend

Carla dance with the other women. Again it was late when they got back to the ship. Della and Perry invited Carla and Barry to their suite to watch the

fireworks. When they took their seats on the private balcony there were more fireworks on the balcony than in the air. There is no shame with two couples

who are on their honeymoon together in the privacy of their own room. Their friends left shortly after the ship fireworks and Della and Perry got ready

to go to bed.

Tomorrow they would be back at sea and this would mark the beginning of the second month of the cruise. Tomorrow would be their first month anniversary

and Della was at a loss on what to get Perry. She was going to have to go to the ships store once again in the morning. She had one little item that she

had found that she was going to give to him in the morning. It was a little statue of the balance of judgement with the blindfolded lady. She had found it

at the Arizona Memorial where they were asking for justice for the men who had died in the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

When Della got up the next morning there were five dozen fresh roses waiting for her at the table and a box of chocolates. The card said It has been

but a month in the beginning of an eternity with the woman I love. Love Perry.

Then they left to go to the cruise to the next island. This would be the last trip in Hawaii and they would be headed to French Polynesian Islands for a couple of

weeks. They were then to go to the Samoa Islands for a few days the last stop would be Fiji. Della and Perry could not wait to see all the islands and enjoy

the cruise.

The next island was gorgeous and there Perry and Della took another hike. Barry and Carla went with them and the four of them had a very good day

together. They stopped at several shops and even had a chance to visit with his brother Jim for a short time. The base that Jim was assigned to was on

this island and they got to see where he worked. Jim was being discharged within the next week and he had decided not to reenlist. He was going to

go back to their parents home in Framingham, Ma. Barry was happy that he was going to be able to see his brother more often but was sorry that he had

not decided to reenlist. The economy wasn't that great in his area and it might be hard for his brother to find a good job.

As Della and Carla walked behind the men looking at all the flowers Carla told her "Don't mind Barry. He worries about everything. That is what makes

him such a good cop." she smiled with pride.

"Perry is the same way. He never puts himself first." Della told her with pride.

Perry slowed his steps down and took Della's arm. "Are you all right? You look tired. Do you want to rest?" he asked her.

Della was tired but she smiled and told him "I am all right hon really."

When they got back to the suite Perry and Della jumped in the hot tub once again. It was soothing on their sore backs and feet and besides that Della

liked the games that they could play while in it. Perry smiled at his wife she was the prettiest lady on the ship of that he was sure and he was very proud

of her. She was not only beautiful but she was smart and had a kind heart.

The next three days were filled with love games and good times with their new friends. They all tried out all of the games and participated in a trivia

contest. They went swimming everyday and ate dawn to dusk. Perry and Barry tried their luck at the poker table while Della and Carla played bingo

once again. Nobody won any money but they did not lose much either and after a few hours of that they were all bored.

Carla and Della decided it was time to go and get a massage. They thought that it might ease their sore muscles and relax them. The message was

wonderful and when they were through with it they both felt much better. The next day they made appointments get a facial. "We had better take

advantage of all the amenities that this ship has to offer, who knows when the next time that we will have a chance to such a treat will be?" Carla

laughed as she and Della headed back to find their husbands.

The next morning the ship would be arriving at the French Polynesian Islands and as Della and Carla waited for their husbands to come to their rooms

they both looked at the brochures. There was some snorkeling that neither one of them had tried in Hawaii and Della and Carla wanted to go this

time. There were tours that they would need to sign up for too. Sometimes the better tours would be filled up quickly. They would talk to Perry

and Barry tonight.

The men were glad that the girls had been looking at the brochures and that they wanted to go snorkeling. Both of them had been talking about trying

it out. They looked over the brochure and decided which tour to take and they noticed that the tour would be leaving at ten the next morning. That

evening the two couples parted at just nine o'clock and Della and Perry were alone together again. It was another night of hot tub and time on the

balcony for the two Masons. They made it to bed at midnight early for them.

Perry and Della met their friends at the lobby at nine thirty the next morning. The tour was going to start loading the bus in about ten minutes and

they wanted to be ready. Della had made sure that they had brought plenty of sunscreen and water. She took a seat and watched as the people

got their tickets to the bus and smiled at a little boy who was watching her with curiosity. She did not know what she had done that was so fascinating

to the little boy but he did not take his eyes off of her and she gave him a little laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

Donna Tatro was in a fix. Her boyfriend of the past five years was going to be getting out of the service soon. He was coming home to her, thinking

that she had been true to him while he had been stationed in Hawaii. Jim Drew had been the man of her dreams when they had been in high school,

but things had changed. She had met another man and they were in a serious relationship with Blake Tanner. She did not know how to tell Jim without

hurting him very deeply. She should have been honest with him and told him about Blake months ago. Now it was too late, Jim was going to be back

in his hometown in three weeks.

Blake was walking back and forth across his bedroom floor thinking about Donna and Jim. He knew that they had been childhood sweethearts, but

he had fallen in love with her. He wanted her to marry him and he would have to tell the man. Perhaps he would understand also.

Meanwhile Jim had fallen in love with Missy. She had been everything that he had ever wanted in a woman and he was going to bring her back with

him to his hometown. He first needed to talk to Donna and explain everything. He kicked himself for not being honest with her. Now he was going

to be going home and she had no idea that he no longer loved her. It was a terrible mess.

But back on the cruse ship everyday that Perry and Della spent on the Polynesian Islands was like a day in paradise. The weather was hot but the water and the

beaches were unbelievable. The four friends spent a lot together riding scooters and bikes and just enjoying their new lives as newlyweds. The church that they

visited was absolutely beautiful as it had been made completely of coral. There were the birds and then a lighthouse that was built to look just like

a pyramid. The trip was fantastic.

Della and Perry spent all their nights out on the balcony of their suite and wondered at the floral and the birds. The mountains were just absolutely

beautiful as they enjoyed their days in the French Polynesian Islands. As they enjoyed the hiking and the swimming Della really did not want to leave.

The people were so friendly and the islands so beautiful but all things must come to an end.

Perry had been standing on the balcony watching Della as she got ready to go out for a night of dinner and dancing and could not help but admire

her. She was getting into one of her nicer gowns for their night out at one of the best restaurants on the ship. He took her in his arms and kissed

her passionately. Della melted right there, and responded in kind. She loved him so much and they had now been married six weeks. "Perry

we will be late if we don't get going." she told him with a laugh.

"We could eat in." he offered.

"You promised me a dinner and dance. The pleasure will come when we come back" she laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

Carla and Barry had already gotten to the restaurant when the Mason's arrived and Barry stood up to welcome them and shake his friends hands.

Carla leaned over and whispered in Della's ear "The food looks so good and it smells wonderful. Want to go to the ladies room and freshen up?"

With that the two girls went into the ladies room and checked their make up. This was what ladies usually did when they wanted to talk without

the men being around so Della was wondering what was going on.

Della was right when they came in Carla looked as though she was going to start to cry. "Barry and I had our first fight. I don't know it is just too

much running around. He wanted to go on another hike and I just don't feel like it. It is my time of the month and he does not understand. We

have made up but I feel so bad.

Della took her friend in her arms and held her. "I am sure that everything will be all right. Everyone has a spat once in a while. So are you going

on the hike or not?" she asked her.

"Yes, of course I am going. We are going tomorrow morning. Are you and Perry going?" she asked

"We were planning on it. Come on let's go back to our husbands." Della put her arm around her friend and they walked out the bathroom together.

Barry meanwhile had told his friend about their little spat. "I just have never had to think about when a lady gets her monthly thing. she sometimes

gets cramps"

Perry thought to himself that is new territory and wondered when Della would get hers. They had now been married seven weeks and he didn't

remember anything happening on the cruise. The girls showed up and the men stood up and smiled. Perry hugged Della and they sat down

to a great dinner.

The four of them were having a great time but Della was distracted. She was wondering why she had been feeling so tired and then Carla had

said something. She had not had her period since they got married. Oh it is nerves, she was sure.

They danced together and then traded and danced with each other a couple of times. Carla was very good at the limbo and they all laughed as she

won the prize for the evening. Finally at one they headed back to their suite.

As Della got dressed into her negligee she looked at herself in the mirror. She was not bad looking and had taken very good care of herself, but she

was gaining weight here on the cruise. She was standing there and did not realize that Perry had come into the room "Umm I like what I see my love."

he told her as he turned her towards him and gave her a passionate kiss.

The next morning was to be there last day in French Polynesia and as they left the ship for one more time Della felt sorry. She would have liked to stay

here a little longer, but they were headed back to another ten days in Hawaii and she had loved it there. Carla and Barry were waiting at the breakfast

buffet when Della and Perry arrived. But when Della smelled the coffee she did not know what happened but she was sure that she was going to be

sick to her stomach. She excused herself and ran to the ladies room. She did not throw up but was surprised she had never had that happen.

Carla watched her friend ran and followed her in. "Are you all right?" she asked her friend worried.

"Yes I don't know what hit me. I smelled the coffee and for a minute I thought I was going to be sick."

Carla looked at her friend and said "Oh oh. That is what happened to my sister when she was pregnant. Are you pregnant?"

Della looked at her friend and told her "I don't know. I might be."

"Well then what we need to do is to take the test. I saw a tester in the ship store. If you are pregnant you need to be a little careful."

"If I am pregnant I can only be six weeks. Honest Carla I was a virgin when I got married." Della told her friend.

"Well the boys can go on their hike and when they are gone we can do the test. We will tell them that you must have eaten something that did not agree

with you last night or something." Carla told her.

As the two girls went out to the breakfast buffet Della told Perry that she was not hungry. "I must have eaten something that did not agree with me last

night or something. You go with Barry on the hike."

"No I will stay here with you." Perry told her with a hug and concern in his voice.

"No you and Barry have been looking forward to this hike and it is only for two hours. I did not want to go on the hike anyways. You guys have a guys day

and Della and I will go back to your suite and relax." Carla told them.

Neither one of the men wanted to go but the women convinced them to leave. As soon as they were gone Della and Carla went to the ships store and bought

a pregnancy test kit. According to the instructions Della was plenty late for the test to work and so to the suite they went. They waited anxiously for the five

minutes that the test took and when Della looked down she cried. "pregnant" was the word. She and Perry had decided not to use precautions and there was

now a little one on the way. She had only an hour before the boys would be back and she wanted to tell Perry .

Carla and Della were jumping up and down with joy and Della ran to get rid of the evidence. They both went down to the ships store to once more get something

special for Perry and wrap the results up. She wanted him to open the package that would be the present. She wrapped the stick that told her of the little

present that would be arriving in just a little under eight months. Della hoped that Perry would be happy.

She had told Carla to leave her alone. She wanted to tell Perry herself. As she sat in her room she went to the mirror. She certainly did not show that

she was pregnant yet. But, she was aware of her clothes getting a little tighter. She had thought that it was because of all the fancy meals that they had

eaten but now she knew the real reason.

She thought about getting out a bottle of champagne and stopped. 'Della you are pregnant no liquor until after the baby is born.' she thought to herself.

Just then the door opened and Perry and Barry came into the room. They were surprised to find out that Carla had gone to her room. "It is all right

honest it is just a sour stomach. I told Carla to go ahead and go back to her room while I took a little nap. I feel much better now." she told him with

a kiss.

Perry took her by the arm and held her close. She smiled at him and told him "I have a present for you."

Della smiled and handed him the package that she had wrapped. Perry was amused. 'What did she get for him while he was out on the hike?' He opened

the package and saw a funny looking stick he looked at Della and picked up the stick. It said pregnant. Emotions flooded to him so fast he thought for

a second that he would cry. He grabbed Della and swung her around, then put her down gingerly, not wanting to hurt the baby. "When did you find

this out?" he asked her as he sat her down on the couch.

Della smiled at him and told him "Well I had not thought about it until something that Carla said to me last night made me wonder. Then this morning

when I thought I was going to be sick when I smelled the coffee I really thought maybe. Carla asked me if I could be pregnant and I have not had my

monthly visitor so we bought the test and this is what it says.

"We need to have a celebration, a big dinner and a happy day." Perry told her as he kissed her gently. "Do you need to see a doctor when we go to

Hawaii or what?" he asked her as he held her in his arms.

"No, I can wait to go to the doctors I am only one month. The baby is only about 1/4 inch long." she smiled up at him. "I am so glad that you are

happy.

Perry was very glad surprised he thought that they would have a couple of months. But he had been warned many wives came back from their honeymoon

pregnant and he had said no to any birth control. He wanted this baby very much. "I am so glad and happy I would like to shout it from the rooftop and

can't wait to tell our family and friends. But it can wait until we get home I guess." and he hugged her even closer.

"No more drinks for me. They are all done until after the baby is born. Maybe no coffee either. The smell really got to me this morning. I think that

problem will go away after a couple of weeks though. I hope not to get sick everyday." Della thought that she did not want to have to go through that

if she could help it. She thought that maybe the rocking of the ship might have had something to do with her getting sick too.

Perry looked around the room and all the beautiful things that the ship had to offer and realized that perhaps Della was right. "Do you want to end the

cruise now and go back to LA? We could if you want if it is making you sick."

"No, I sure don't want to cut this honeymoon short. If you get morning sickness you get it anywhere. I would rather have it on board the beautiful ship

where the baby was conceived than have it at the office." Della told him and gave him a big hug.

"Whatever you want hon. We will just take it one day at a time. The next four days are going to be at sea anyways and we can relax in the hot tub and

balcony. You might have been getting tired because of the pregnancy. Let's try to go to bed by midnight from now on." he told her with a laugh.

Della went to lie down and Perry thought that he would sneak out. This was definitely a ten dozen rose day. He wanted to get her something special for

the day too. He went to the store and bought her a diamond necklace. She always enjoyed new jewelry and he was sure that she would like this one. It

had a fourteen carrot chain with a diamond shaped heart. They wrapped it for him and he went back to the suite. As he walked down the hall he ran

into Carla and Barry. "I hear that congratulations are in order.." Barry told him with a big smile and Carla gave him a hug.

"We are both very happy. I left Della at the suite while I went to Cartier's and bought her something to celebrate. I also sent her ten dozen roses to

celebrate the day." Perry told them with a big smile.

Della woke up when she heard the soft tap on the door. She opened the door to find one of the workers there with two huge bouquets of red roses. Perry

sent her ten dozen roses, she could not believe it. There was a large box of chocolates for her too. Well, the baby will eat well today Della thought to

herself as the thanked the young men and gave them a ten dollar tip a piece.

Della was standing there smiling at the flowers that she had been given when she saw Perry come in carrying a balloon that said baby on it. He looked

like a child going to a birthday party. In his hand he carried a gift also. It was too much and Della was so excited. She sat down on the couch and

opened the gift. It was a necklace a diamond necklace, the nicest one that she had ever seen. She would wear the necklace tonight when they went

out to dinner.

Perry knew that there would have to be some changes in their lives from now on. Della would have to be careful of what she ate and drank and what

kinds of things she was exposed to. One of the things that he was going to have to give up was those darn cigarettes. Oh he had heard all about what

they were doing to him and he had ignored the ads but now there was a baby his baby to think of. He went to his bags and told the butler to give them

to someone else, he was quitting.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Della and Perry enjoying the salt air and the weather. It had been good weather the whole cruise with the

exception of one day and the balcony had been the place that they had spent the most time together. They both took out their books and read most

of the afternoon.

That night Perry had made reservations at the best restaurant that the ship had to offer and had gotten out his tuxedo. Della went to her closet to check

out one of her gowns. She loved her dark blue one and decided that was what she was going to wear on that night. When she went to zip the dress she

was surprised at how tight it was. She had to get Perry to help zip it and he told her that he didn't think it was going to fit much longer. All of her clothes

had been tailored to fit her right and she was going to need an adjustment when she got back to LA for sure.

Della decided to wear some low pumps so that she would be able to dance and not change her shoes that evening. When they got to the table the waiter

had set up a table away from the crowd and a violin was played to them right there. The food was delicious and Della had her usual steak and potatoes

and salad. Perry had the same thing and they enjoyed their meal together. They knew that Carla and Barry were probably wondering when the two of

them would come over and see them so they decided to call them in the morning.

As the music started for the dancing Perry and Della danced ever single slow dance that night. Della felt like a queen with her king and Perry made sure

that she was treated like a queen. As they had decided the dance would end at midnight. She and the baby did need the rest. Della was very proud of

Perry he had not smoked all afternoon and he had been very good to her. She knew that it must be hard to quit smoking but Perry was being a trooper

about it and she did not mention it.

As they got dressed for bed they tried to share the bathroom. It did not work. The bathroom was pretty big, but not big enough for the two of them and

they kept bumping into each other. Perry put his hand on Della's stomach trying to see if he could feel the baby but he felt nothing. She had said that

the baby was only about 1/4 inch long if that was true he guessed he would not be able to feel it yet.

Perry left the bathroom first and finished putting on his pajamas in the room. It had been quite a day for the first time in his life he was a father and

he and his wife now had someone else to think about no matter what happened. He was still getting used to having Della and it had been just six

weeks. The baby was still about thirty six weeks away, he could not wait.

The night was a little rough for Perry. He knew that the lack of nicotine in his system was going to cause some withdrawal symptoms. Right now he

could not sleep and he did not want to wake up Della. He was all right as long as he did not leave the room because he had given away all of his smokes,

So he decided to go quietly out to the balcony and enjoy the fresh air.

Della woke up and reached over for her husband he was not there. She looked up and saw him standing on the balcony. She thought of how handsome

he looked out there and got up. She slipped her robe over her and opened the sliding doors. He turned and smiled at her "I am sorry that you woke up

I tried to be quiet." he told her as he gave her a hug.

"I saw you out here and just had to come and give you a hug. I love you very much. Thank you for taking me on this cruise. It has been a much needed

change to our everyday routine. But when we get back I will be more than ready to get back to the office." she told him as she gave him a hug.

"I was thinking the same thing. It is so great to be with you on this cruise. We have seen so many things and met such nice people. We will have to take

another trip sometime. This is our second cruise together and both cruises have been the best trips that I have ever taken. Of course, it might be the

company that came with me." he kissed her on the top of the head.

Della stood there and leaned on her husband. He was so big and strong and she loved him with all her heart. They stood there on the balcony quiet for

about ten more minutes and then head back to their bed. Della buried herself next to him and as they cuddled they both fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning they woke up at seven and Perry placed a call to his friend Barry. Carla and Barry had just gotten back from breakfast and said

that they would love to join Perry and Della in watching the game show wheel of fortune that they were going to be playing onboard the ship that day. The

contestants were taken from the audience. Anyone who wanted to participate as a contestant put their name into a hat and then one of the game show

people would draw three names out of the hat. The prizes were not large but the games were lots of fun anyways. Della and Carla put their names in

the hat. Perry and Barry passed on trying out. "Let the girls have the fun" Perry told Barry.

Della was surprised when they called her name. She was not usually lucky, but she had always been pretty good at the game known as hangman and the

Wheel of Fortune resembled that a lot. As she spun the wheel and hit the lose a turn and then bankrupt she thought this might not be her lucky day. Then

on the second round she got five t s and two r s and won the round. From then on Della did well and ended up the champion of the night. She won a

one hundred dollar gift certificate to the spa and was very happy.

Carla and Della went over to make an appointment to get their massages again and laughed as the lady looked surprised that Della had won enough for them

each to receive a twenty minute massage. When they left the room they found their husbands standing out by the railing talking. They both went up to their

wives and put their arms around them. Perry was so pleased with his wife and proud of her as Barry was with his. They had become good friends and wished

that they lived closer to each other. But they all vowed to make it out to their part of the country once in a while anyways.

The next day the ship arrived in Hawaii once again. The island that they landed on this time had a volcano and the four of them had decided to go on a tour

of that. The tour was five hours long and Perry thought that would be enough for Della. He knew that she was getting tired sometimes and he did not want her

to over do it. The volcano was quite a sight to see and although they could not get too close to it they could still feel the heat. Below in the town the four of

them joined the rest of the tour for lunch. The lunch consisted of all fruits and it bothered Della's stomach a little. She did not mention it so that she would

not worry Perry. He had been so sweet to her.

After the long day on the tour and hike Della was ready for some rest. She took her seat on her favorite deck chair and smiled as Perry took his seat next

to her. She was not sure when she fell asleep but found out that it was 1/2 an hour later than she thought it was when she opened her eyes. Perry was just

sitting there reading a book and she leaned over to give him a kiss. He kissed her back and put his book down. "Are you ok?" he asked her.

"I am fine just a little tired from all the exercise. But they say that exercise is the best thing for a woman who is pregnant. So the walk and the sun are

good for the two of us. The baby and I are happy right now." she told him with a smile.

Della looked at her watch and saw that it was almost five o'clock and she was supposed to meet Carla at bingo at five. She pointed to her watch and headed

back to the bathroom to freshen up. "Do you want to come with me? I am headed to bingo." she asked him.

Perry thought about it and sitting down at a smoky bingo game with no other men around was not his idea of fun. However, Della did make the time more

fun. "Yes, I will go he told her. Maybe I can win this time. Everyone else has won it's my turn." he told her with a smile and with that they walked out of

their suite arm in arm.

That evening after a long game of bingo where Perry lost again they headed out to the large buffet for dinner. Della did not want to bother going upstairs

and getting dressed for dinner. She said that her clothes were starting to get tight and her feet felt better in flats. Perry laughed as she went to the buffet

and took a heaping plate full of food. Della usually ate small portions but she now had quite an appetite at night. He had noticed that at breakfast she

did not eat much of anything.


	3. Chapter 3

The island was just beautiful and Della and Perry took their seat on the tourist bus once more. They stayed and enjoyed the scenery and listened

to the guide intently. They took the chance to shop and walk around all of the shops that the island had to offer. Della bought some knick

knacks for Lori. She then bought a very expensive set of cufflinks for Mike.

They had bought a necklace for her mother and had bought her father another set of cufflinks at one of the other stops on the cruise. They

needed to get all the presents bought because the day after tomorrow they were headed back home. Barry and Carla had been busy at

the shops doing the same thing and once again they did not get back to the ship until almost dinner time.

There were many photos taken that day with their friends and their friends took pictures of Della and Perry and vise versa. Della wanted to make

sure that there would be plenty of memories of their honeymoon. She was going to add the photos to the wedding album once they got their

wedding pictures back.

Della found herself tired once more and she and Perry decided to have a formal dinner in the privacy of their own suite. The waiters would

set the table up for them on the balcony and from their suite they could watch the entertainment on the island. They enjoyed a dinner

with pork chops and mashed potatoes and a large salad. Della was trying to eat the right food for her pregnancy. Carla had told her that

she might need vitamins and had given her some ideas on what she should try to eat.

That night there was entertainment that they could easily see from their balcony and they sat out on the balcony until very late watching

and listening to the music. The next day they and their friends were going to spend their last day in paradise on the beach soaking in

the sun and the sand. Della was sure that Perry was glad that this was to be the last day on the beach for a while. Every time they had gone to

the beach he had spent hours cleaning his feet. The last time he had worn sandals but he had still gotten dirt in between his toes.

After the party was over on the island Perry and Della went inside and climbed into the hot tub. It was so soothing and comfortable neither one

of them wanted to get out. They sat in the hot tub for about twenty minutes and then got out and dried off. Della was so glad that they had

purchased the home with the hot tub. She had gotten used to it and liked the feeling on her sore back and feet.

Perry looked over at his wife with love. She was just drying her hair but she looked good to him. As he brushed his hair and got into his pajamas

he wondered what she was going to look like in a few weeks. Somehow she would carry their child with poise and dignity he knew that. In the

meantime he was going to do everything he could to make her comfortable.

As Della came out of the dressing room Perry took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. She returned his kiss and ran her fingers over his

chest. As she kissed him lightly on the neck he picked her up and brought her to their bed.

The next morning came early and Della got up at six. She looked over at Perry's pillow and saw that he had already gotten up. She looked at her

watch and saw that it was still early and looked around to find Perry. She looked out on the balcony and found him out there in a deck chair just

watching the people on the island. She walked up to him and kissed him gently on the neck. He took her hand and kissed it. He then pulled her

around the front of him and he smiled. "I love you Della. I tried to get up quietly but you are a light sleeper. Why don't you go back to bed. It is

only six in the morning and we aren't even meeting Barry and Carla until ten."

"Oh I think that because I am used to getting up so early my body just wakes up on it's own. I did not hear you get up, but when I opened my eyes

I saw you here." Della took her seat next to Perry and took his hand. They sat together for quite a while and then went inside to get ready for their

last day in Hawaii.

This morning Della did not think that she could stomach much of anything. Her stomach was very jittery and when she even got a small whiff of coffee

she started to get sick. "Perry if you don't mind I think that I would prefer to have breakfast at the room. I will try just some dry toast and a glass

of juice."

Perry looked at Della who was very pale and took her arm. "I am sorry that you are not feeling well and of course we can eat in our room. You should

try to eat something toast would be all right." he told her and held her tight.

"Just no coffee please this morning." she told him.

"Count it done" he told her as he led her over to the couch to take a seat.

By ten that morning Della was starting to feel like her old self and she went with her friends to the beach for a day of fun. They actually spent the

day together did some snorkeling and went out on one of the glass bottom boats that were there. The ocean was so clear and warm, it was hard

to think that in just five days they would be back in LA and in seven they would be back at the office.

They walked along the waters edge and held hands. There was a photographer there from the cruise ship who took more pictures of them and he

even got a picture of the four friends together. The ship was leaving at five that afternoon so when they saw that it was four already they headed

back toward the ship with heavy hearts. The honeymoon was starting its last stage and neither one of the four friends wanted it to end.

Tradition was told that if you throw a lei out into the harbor and it comes back you will be back if it goes out to sea you will not come back. Della

and Perry along with their friends all threw their lei in the water and were surprised to find that all four leis returned. Someday they would all be

back and maybe this time together.

The party at the end of the island cruise was almost as large as the party the night that they had left the mainland of the United States. The crowd

up on the top deck was unbelievable and the music and dancing was wonderful. Della stuck to her non alcoholic drink and settled down to have a

relaxing time watching the party. She did get up and do some dancing and she and Perry held each other close. Carla won the limbo contest

and got a certificate for another cruise with a value of two hundred dollars. She and Barry were thrilled and Della gave her a big hug of congratulations.

It was now midnight and Della was ready to go to bed. Perry looked over at his wife and said "hon it's midnight and we will still be on the ship in the

morning. Why don't we go back to our room?"

"I am ok if you want to stay a little longer it is all right with me. We are having so much fun." Della told him and then gave him a quick squeeze of his

hand.

Perry looked at her and said "No, I want to spend some private time with my wife. I have had enough. Let's go." and with that they said good night

to their friends and they headed back to their suite.

Della went in to get into her night clothes and get ready for bed while Perry waited his turn. The room was just too small for the two of them. When

she had finished he went in and she laid down on the bed. She could hear him in there humming and brushing his teeth and she smiled. This was

what their life was going to be like from now on she was sure. But she could not wait to get back to the office and another mystery. The cruise

had been a break that they both had badly needed but now she was ready to go.

Perry came in and saw her in the bed with a smile on her face. He crawled under the covers with her and smiled "Penny for your thoughts." and then

he kissed her on the lips tenderly.

Della smiled at him and told him "I was just thinking that I missed work believe it or not. Oh don't get me wrong this has been the best trip that I could

imagine but I miss the excitement of the office and the mysteries." she told him as she kissed him back.

"I must admit that sometimes I feel the same way. This is our last seven days before we go back to work . There will be plenty waiting for us of that

I am positive." and with that he turned out the lights.

The next morning Perry got up and did some of his office work that he had been sent while the ship had been at dock. There was not that much work,

but there was some and he was happy to have something to do. Della and Carla went shopping and then they were going to get their hair and nails

done. That would take most of the morning and he was glad to get back to some work.

Della and Carla meanwhile went shopping. There were so many things for them to chose from and Della bought her mother a pair of diamond earrings

to go with her necklace. For Lori and Mike she bought them a beautiful pitcher with matching glasses for the many times that they would be sitting out

on her patio enjoying lemonade. Della was glad to find that. Then she bought all of the girls who were in her wedding their favorite perfumes and a

nice thank you card. For the girls in the office each one of them got a box of chocolate and a nice bonus check from them for their extra work that had

been performed while Della and Perry on their honeymoon.

Carla bought something for everyone in her wedding also and something for her and Barry's parents also. The two of them were laughing and enjoying

the time. Fortunately the stores would deliver their purchases to their rooms because there was a lot for them to carry. The two friends were laughing

as they walked down the hallway to the hair and nail salon. They had an appointment for eleven and it was five mutes to the hour. They had a great

time and Della had been dying to ask Carla something. "Carla I know that you are a nurse. Do you know how they determine roughly when my baby

is due?" she asked her friend.

"Of course I know. What was the day of your last period?" Carla asked her.

"It was August fourteenth." Della thought and told her.

"What they do is subtract three months and add seven days. That means that your baby is due May 21. It is not always right on but it is what the doctors

have used as a calculation date for years." Carla smiled.

"May 21 st. It sounds so far away." Della thought to herself out loud.

"Don't worry the time will come quicker than you think. I am so happy for you." Carla told her and then she gave her friend a hug.

The girls parted ways and headed back to their rooms. It was now just after twelve and they decided to go to bingo at two. If for some reason the men

had other plans they would call each other, but for now after lunch they were going to play a game of bingo.

Della smiled as she saw Perry busy at his desk working. He looked the way that she always thought of him, hard at work signing tons and tons of documents.

He had not asked for her help, but she was going to offer as soon as she got in. Perry looked up to see Della coming into the room and smiled "How did

everything go today?"

"We shopped and shopped then we had a manicure and pedicure. We decided that we didn't have the time to do our hair this morning and we will have it

done tomorrow instead. How is everything with your work? Can I help?" she asked him as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Carla told me something

today. She says that our baby is due around May 21st."

This was the first time that he had actually thought about the date. Perry was so excited about the news. He reached around and put his arm around

her. "I cannot wait for that day May 21 st sounds like a great day to me. The spring will be here and we will have a baby. Everything is set here. I

don't need anything done right now Della. Right now I am getting hungry. How about you?" he asked her. "We can go and have a celebration together

once more."

"I am very hungry. Shopping does that to a woman you know. They will be delivering the packages up to our suite sometime this afternoon. If you don't

mind Carla and I are going to bingo at two. I would love your company." Della told him.

"No. actually Barry has asked me to go down and get a steam and a massage ourselves. This old body could use a good rub down too. We knew that

bingo was at two so we made an appointment for the same time if you don't mind." he told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"No, of course I don't mind. When we finish bingo Carla and I will go up top and do some swimming. If you want to you can meet us up on the top

deck when you are ready. I haven't been in the pool for a few days and feel like a good dip." she smiled down at him.

By the time the game was over and Barry and Perry came back up on deck it was after four. They found Della and Carla in the pool having a good time

and they decided to go in and join in the fun. They stayed in the pool until a little after five and then headed back to their rooms. Della was ready

for dinner and that night there was going to be another show that she and Perry had thought they might enjoy. So, she got dressed up in her formal

gown and he dressed up in one of his best suits. They looked quite the couple as they walked into the restaurant. The dinner was great and they

then headed out to the theater.

Perry and Della had a great night and headed back to their suite at just eleven that evening. They went to the suite and jumped right into the hot

tub. They enjoyed the tub and talked about their new house and how anxious they were to get home. There was a nice hot tub there. Della thought

of all the work that was left to do on their new home. They still had boxes of things to take care of and she was sure that there was a lot to clean too. She

did not know that her mother and mother in law and Lori had worked feverishly to get the house in tip top shape.

But Perry had also thought about the work the house needed and had contacted a cleaning crew. The company that he hired would clean it top to bottom

and they would make sure that the lawn and the pool was ready also. The house would be ready when they got home, he wanted to relax not work all

day on Sunday.

The next day was the same with Della and Perry doing work for about two hours and then she headed out to get her hair done with Carla. They would

go to bingo afterward and Barry and Perry were going to join them that afternoon. It was very hot outside and Della had gotten a sunburn on the back

of her neck. She did not want to go swimming that day because of the burn.

They played bingo and then went to watch the men play poker. Neither one of the girls men were very good at the game and they were both losing. As

Perry looked up and saw them enter the room he nudged his friend Barry and they stopped after the hand had completed. Perry looked at his watch

and was surprised to see that it was already three thirty and he was glad to get away from the table.

Because of her sunburn Della and Perry declined Carla and Barry's invitation to come up on deck. Carla knew of Della's burn and didn't blame her. She

had been very sore at the hair salon. The Masons decided that it would be a good day to enjoy their private balcony . So they took their seats outside of

their suite and just enjoyed the view. As they sat there they actually passed another cruise ship. The passengers all waved at the people on their cruise

ship and Della and Perry waved at them with big smiles. That ship was on the way to the trip that they had just taken and Della and Perry knew that

they were on their way to fun.

Della and Perry went out to their favorite restaurant on the ship and ate a good meal. When they were through they then went out on deck to enjoy

the music and the people. Without the sun shining so bright Della could go out and not get another burn. They both enjoyed the party once more

and were glad when Barry and Carla came over to their table. The four of them had a great time together on the deck and danced once again. They

only had two days and one night left on the cruise.

The next day Della and Perry spent the day seeing everything that they had not seen on the ship for the past few weeks. They were surprised that

there were parts that they had not seen. There were lots of things on the ship that they had missed. There was one part where the children went

for the most part. There was a slide and numerous games for the children to play and the two newlyweds enjoyed watching them play.

They went up on deck for a short time and were joined by their friends Barry and Carla. There was another trivia contest starting in one of the

many theaters on the ship that was to begin at two. Della loved the trivia game and the four of them made a good group. They had won the last

two contests that they had competed in. The theater was cool and she could sit comfortably on a chair. She was no longer drinking anything but

juice and water and therefore had a very clear head.

The questions were mostly about sports and television and Della was a little short on her knowledge of sports. She was all right when it came to

television questions, but Carla shined when it came to them. Between everyone's knowledge they won the trivia games once more and they

received a one hundred dollar credit for on board the ship. Carla was glad about that because she had not told Barry about how much money

she had spent at the store the other day. She had overspent her budget by much more than a hundred dollars. Della gave her the gift certificate.

Carla had really been the winner and she knew that she needed the money more than Della and Perry needed it.

When Della and Perry went to their suite to get ready for dinner Perry smiled at his wife. "That was a kind thing that you did for Carla. You were

more than entitled to half of that certificate. I saw you give the certificate to her. "

"She spent a lot of money when we were shopping and I could tell that she was getting nervous. I am fine with what I have spent and so I think

that she deserves the money." Della told him with a kiss to the cheek. "That is why I love you so much. You have never questioned what or where

or how much I have spent."

The two of them wanted to spend their last night on the cruise ship at their own balcony with all the amenities and a private waiter. The dinner

was delicious and the sunset made the view spectacular. They ate the five course meal and then Della wanted to go down and play the last

game of bingo on the ship. It was going to start in about twenty minutes and the grand prize was another cruise on the same ship with a value

of five thousand dollars.

Della and Perry arrived just ten minutes before the game started and found Barry and Carla who were already seated at their regular table. They

each smiled and took their seats. As the game went on nobody at the table even waited. The last game of the cruise was a cover all with the

grand prize. As they called the numbers Perry was surprised to see that he was doing well. When he and others got down to one number they

were asked to stand up so that people could see who was waiting for just one number. He was waiting for I 22 and when it came out Della jumped

they won the free cruise. Everyone was happy and they all laughed and enjoyed the rest of the bingo. He was given a certificate in an envelope

and they headed up on the deck for the good-bye party. That night everyone joined in on the phone and Della and Perry had one of the best times

that they have ever had. The group of friends who had spent almost the last seven weeks of the cruise together said good-bye. They would not

see each other again for a long time. They made sure that they had each others numbers and addresses and promised that they would call and

see each other soon.

The next morning Della and Perry were met at the ship by their limo and they headed back home. The ride was just a little over an hour away

and the city looked great to the both of them. They did not have a chance to see their friends again. Because they were going to be taking an

airplane back to Boston they were brought to the discharge center at a different time. Della took one long last look at the place that she and her

husband had called home for the last seven weeks. Perry held her tight and smiled as the two of them got into the limo on their way to their

new home and life.


	4. Chapter 4

As the limo driver pulled into the driveway Della and Perry smiled at their new home. The yard had been recently done as the landscaper had

promised and the flowers looked lovely and well watered on the front lawn. Della thought about all the boxes and gifts that she and Perry still had

to put away. She had written all the thank you cards on the cruise and had mailed them from Hawaii.

The limo driver and Perry brought everything but a few light items into the house and upstairs. Perry saw no reason for Della to do anything

like carrying luggage up a flight of stairs. The doctor had said that she should not be babied but there was no reason to have her carry items

that weighed more than a few pounds and the suitcases were very heavy.

As Della walked into the kitchen she was thrilled to see a dozen roses out on the dining room table. Everything had been put away. She

looked over the kitchen and saw nothing left for her to do. As she walked through the house it was apparent that someone had come in

while they were gone and finished unpacking everything. She walked into each room and touched the walls getting the feeling for the

house.

This was the home where they were to spend the rest of their lives perhaps. It was a beautiful home with a large yard and a pool and hot

tub. There were four large bedrooms for them to enjoy with their children and it was in one of the better neighborhoods of the city. Yes she

liked this house very much.

Della went upstairs and looked at the room that soon would be their baby's room. She opened the door and looked in. It was a good sized room

and she could do much with it. Once she found out the sex of the baby she would design the room with the help of Perry and Lori. She wanted

Perry to be involved with the designing and hoped that he would want to also.

Perry came out of the master bedroom to see Della standing at the door of the nursery. He took her in his arms and told her "Our baby will

have everything a child could ever want. This child will be loved by us always."

Della turned to her husband, the man that she had chosen to live her life with and put her head on his shoulder. "I love you very much and even

though this baby is only a little tiny being he or she is loved. I will do my best to make sure that our child never knows anything but love and

caring from us." she told him.

They shut the door to the nursery and walked into the master bedroom. There were all of the packages that she and Carla had bought while they

were out shopping. Most of the gifts had been shipped back a few days before, but Della had kept the presents for the girls in the office and for

her sister Lori and her husband Mike here. There were also presents for all of her bridesmaids and the ushers. She would have to invite them

over for some kind of party soon. But that would wait. Della was tired once more and as she lay her head on the pillow of their bed she fell

into a deep slumber.

Perry had gone downstairs to get a drink and bring something up for Della but when he came upstairs he found her sound asleep. He was glad

to see her get some rest. It had been a long day and he did not want her to get too tired. He closed the door and went downstairs to check out

some things on the computer. The house was so quiet he couldn't wait for the patter of little feet to fill the halls.

When Della woke up she was a little disoriented but she soon realized that she was in her home in her own bedroom and it felt good. She had

loved spending the time on the ship and she had the best honeymoon that she could have ever wished for, but now she was home. She was

going to be calling the doctor on Monday and she would know for sure her due date soon. She wanted to call Lori and let her know that she and

Perry were home and safe. As she climbed down the stairs she looked for Perry. It was then that she heard him in his study and she walked

around the corner to his room

He was busy at his desk and looked quite content getting back to work himself. He already had a law book out and he was going over it with

a fine tooth comb like he always had. She smiled as she watched him and when he looked up he smiled. "Hello beautiful, did you have a good

rest?" he asked her.

"Yes I did. Sorry that I fell asleep so soon after we got home. This has been a tiring day for me, but I sure am glad to be home with my new

hubby in our new home." she told him as she walked over and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. She started massaging his shoulders

and Perry heart melted once again.

"i am getting a little hungry once again. I thought that I would go downstairs and see if I could find something for us to eat that would not take

long. Unfortunately most of the things that are in the refrigerator are frozen. But let me see what I can find." Della told him with a big smile

and off she went to the kitchen.

When Della opened the refrigerator she was surprised to find it fully stocked with most of her and Perry's favorite sandwich meat. There was

a large pitcher of lemonade in there too. 'Lori" she thought to herself. Her sister was so good to her and she made up her mind that she

would give her a call as soon as they had eaten lunch.

Della was just finishing with the sandwiches and getting ready to go and let Perry knew that lunch was ready when she felt his arms around

her waist. "I didn't think that we would have anything in the refrigerator until we did some shopping. Is it my imagination or did someone

stock the refrigerator for us?" he asked her as he swayed back and forth with her still in his arms.

"I think that it must have been Lori . Someone has bought all of the things that I normally get. She knows just what I like to buy and everything

here is what I like. Let's eat and then I'll give her a call." Della told him.

Lori was so glad to hear Della's voice. She had never been away from her sister for so long. So much had happened in the last seven weeks

and she couldn't wait to share with her what had been going on. "We will be glad to come over tomorrow for a large noon meal. I know that

you and Perry had a lot to do and you need to settle into your new home. " she told her with a bit of a sigh.

Della was smiling as she talked to her sister. She loved Lori with all her heart and she had missed her terribly the last few weeks, but she was

too tired to have company right now. "I missed you and I love you. Give our love to Mike also.

Mike had come into the kitchen while Lori was on the phone and smiled at his wife. She was pretty as a picture and had worked hard on their

house and also at her sister's. They had painted most of the rooms and had moved their bedroom into Della's old room. He reached over

and gave Lori a hug. "It will be good to see Della and Perry again."

Lori smiled up at her husband and asked him "Do I show yet? I want to tell Della and Perry that I am pregnant. I don't want her to just look

at me and know."

"You don't show very much as of yet. You are only three and a half months pregnant. You probably won't show to everyone for another two

to four weeks. You will be able to surprise her I am sure. After all the baby is not due until April." he told her with a smile.

The rest of the day at the Mason household was spent fixing things the way they wanted them. Perry brought all the gifts that were going

to be given to the people in the office to his car and he called Paul.

Paul Drake had been Perry's best friend for many years now and he had missed talking to him. Paul had been at home and when he saw

that the call was from his friend Perry he answered the call right away. "Hey old man good to hear from you. How was the honeymoon

and how is Della?"

"The honeymoon was wonderful and Della and I are both fine. It has been a long seven weeks and I just wanted to hear about anything

exciting that has happened since we were gone." Perry told his friend.

"Oh a lot of things have happened. As a matter of fact the past couple of months have been rather slow with no Perry Mason to keep me

busy. Sue and I would love to see you ." Paul told him

"We were thinking about inviting people over for tomorrow. It has been a long seven weeks and we are tired. So today we are just taking

it easy here. But it is good to hear your voice." Perry told him.

"I understand completely. We will call you tomorrow in the afternoon and we can make a good time then. Talk to you later." Paul told

him with a smile.

That afternoon Della and Perry unpacked from their trip and did their laundry. They had so many things to put away and Della was sure

glad that there were no boxes left for them to put away. When she went to check the mail she found a note from Perry's mother saying

that she hoped that they did not mind but they had taken care of all the boxes in the house Perry's mother her mother Lori and all of

the bridesmaids had cleaned the house top to bottom and Della didn't know what to think but she was going to thank each and every one

of them personally.

When Perry saw the note from his mother he could not help but laugh. He looked at Della and smiled as he told her "When we were in

Hawaii I called a cleaning service to get the house ready as a surprise for you. I was wondering what this note from the cleaning service

meant. They said that everything was done within the two hour minimum time that they charged. I couldn't believe that they had gotten

the house ready in under two hours. There were boxes everywhere. This note explains it all." he told her as he kissed her on the cheek

once more.

They both had a good laugh about it and decided to try out their hot tub. Of course their hot tub at the house was not as private as the

hot tub had been at the ship. As Della and Perry climbed in she laughed. "What is so funny Mrs. Mason?" Perry asked her.

"Our own home and we have to be careful that no one sees us in the buff. We need to change the fence so that people cannot see into

the hot tub from anywhere but in the pool."

"Why you naughty lady." Perry laughed and he kissed her passionately.

That night they had a nice meal inside the home and made it to be for the first time in their marriage at the near normal time of ten o'clock.

Della was exhausted and she wanted Perry to come to bed with her. It was to be their first night together in their new home.

The next morning they went to the early church service. When the service was over everyone came over to them and complimented them

on how good they looked and how happy they were that they were now married. It was a bit overwhelming but they knew that everyone

who spoke to them wished them well . The Mason's managed to get out of church by ten fifteen and headed home. Della wanted the

dinner to be done as close to one as possible. So, as soon as she got home she put the roast in the oven. It would be done just a few

minutes after twelve. As she prepared the meal Perry went out to his workshop and thought about making something for the baby. He

knew that he was not that good at woodworking but perhaps he could make the baby something small. He had seen an article on a shop

that they were offering at the local tech school for adults, maybe he could take a course.

As he went over his shop he looked up to see his next door neighbors Sandy and Don Burgger standing in the garage. He walked over and

shook their hands. They had met a few times and Perry was glad that Dr. Burger was to be his neighbor. "Congratulations on your marriage

and welcome to the neighborhood " they both wished them.

Della came out of the house and came over to meet the neighbors. She knew them both and had liked them when she had met them a few

years ago at a charity event. She smiled as she told of their cruise and honeymoon. The four of them chatted for a short while and Della

brought Sandy into the house to show her around. Sandy had not been in since they had done it over to some extent. When they came out

of the house they were both chatting and laughing.

Perry had shown Don the woodshop and he told him how the man who had lived there before him had made many beautiful things there in

his workshop. But Don had no idea about the woodworking himself. He thought that it was a good idea that Perry take the class over at the

tech school.

Della went back in after her neighbors left and went to work on making dinner. Lori and Mike would be there in a half an hour and she wanted

to have the dinner almost ready. Perry came in and helped her set the table and place the flowers back in the middle. The dinnerware that

he and Della had picked out had never been eaten on and it was very nice. He liked the pattern and as he finished setting the table he liked

what he saw.

True to their words Lori and Mike arrived just a little past noon. Della and Lori hugged and laughed as they talked non stop for the next few

minutes about anything and everything. Lori went right to work helping her sister with the dinner. Perry and Mike shook hands and talked

together themselves. The mood was a very happy one and it was quite apparent that they had missed each other.

Della and Perry had the gifts that they had bought their sister and brother in law and they opened the gifts with glee. "Omg guys thank you

Lori cried out and just felt the necklace. Mike was happy with the cufflinks and then they both had gotten chocolates. When Mike saw the

cigars he smiled "That is one of the things that have changed in my life. I am doing my best to try and quit smoking. It has been a real

uphill battle but it has been six weeks today. You can take the cigars Perry."

Perry smiled at his friend. He too had quit smoking "I can't for I quit smoking two weeks ago tomorrow."

"Wow that is great. Both of you quit smoking. Wow. I know it is hard but you will feel better soon." Lori told them with a smile. " **But actually,**

 **Mike had a reason to quit smoking. We have a surprise and with that she pulled out a package. Della looked at Perry and the two**

 **of them opened the package. In the package there was a photo, it was a baby Lori was pregnant. Della felt the tears welling up**

 **in her eyes as she saw the picture of the little baby Platt. She grabbed her sister and hugged her and then turned and hugged Mike.**

 **"This is the best news that I could get. When is the baby due?" Della asked.**

 **"We are expecting the baby to arrive on or around April 12th. We can't wait. When you got married we suspected but we didn't want**

 **to spoil your wedding so we didn't take the test until the day after the wedding. The doctor says everything is good. I no longer drink**

 **any alcohol and Mike doesn't smoke.**

 **Della looked at Perry and smiled. "We have something to tell you too. It seems that your little baby is going to have company a little**

 **cousin to play with. We are expecting a baby too. They think the baby is due sometime around May 21st." Della smiled at her sister and**

 **the four of them just were so excited. Two babies were on their way in just seven months. Wow.**

 **When dinner was done they all went into the family room to enjoy the afternoon. Perry called his friend Paul and asked for Sue and**

 **Paul to come over and bring Paul Jr with them. The yard was huge and he could have lots of fun there.**

 **Later on that afternoon the six of them sat outside and enjoyed the sun and the weather. When everyone told Paul and Sue about the**

 **babies that were on the way, the two of them were very excited. Paul cleared his throat and smiled at his wife. Sue turned to them**

 **and told them "Well Paul and I have some news of our own. We have been trying to have a baby for over a year. but because of**

 **my two miscarriages we have waited to announce our pregnancy this time. We are going to have a baby in March. We are having a**

 **little girl." Sue told them with a smile and with that they all hugged and laughed and what a celebration that day.**

 **They were all tired when the day ended and Della wanted to get her clothes out for work the next day. She was sure that there would**

 **be many visitors that day there to see Perry and her after their honeymoon so she wanted to look good. Also, they were going to be**

 **giving out the small presents that they had bought everyone and she knew that there would a lot of work for them.**

 **The next morning they got up early and got ready for their first day of work in almost two months. As they left the house and approached**

 **the familiar building where the office was located. It looked very good to them. As they parked their car the two of them headed up to**

 **the office arm in arm. When they came in they were carrying all of the packages and the bonus check that Perry had written them all for**

 **the extra work that they had done. Everyone was excited and happy to see their friends and bosses. It was quite loud in the office that**

 **morning. When they opened their bonus checks they were extremely thankful. Gertie was getting married soon and she could use the**

 **money. But no one was wealthy and five hundred dollars was a nice bonus to receive.**

 **When Ken came into the office that morning he had been very busy himself. He had kept the office going for the past two months and**

 **had discovered that he was a capable attorney. When he had been asked to take over the office for the seven weeks that Perry and**

 **Della would be gone he had been nervous. Whenever he had a question he had gone to Perry, but it had been just a lack of confidence**

 **as Perry had told him. He had handled ninety percent of the work and Perry did not have that much extra left to due that had not been**

 **taken care of in his absence. Of course, many of his clients had waited to make an appointment with him for when he came back. They**

 **had just used Ken for minor things and emergencies. He had been to the police station several times during the last seven weeks but**

 **had taken care of everyone but one case that was due in court on Wednesday.**

 **Ken and Perry went over all of his work that morning and Della spent the morning catching up on her work. There was a lot of filing**

 **to do and she felt good to get back into the swing of things. She called the doctors office and was referred to another doctor who**

 **was able to see her on Thursday morning at nine. They wanted her to bring with her all the information and her husband was encouraged**

 **to come.**

 **When she came into Perry's office, she was pleased to see him at his desk once again working hard and going over everything with**

 **Ken. She had not told anyone about the pregnancy at the office yet and she did not want to say anything in front of Ken. She wanted**

 **to wait until they saw the doctor and everything was verified but she was excited.**

 **Perry looked up and saw Della's face and excused himself from Ken for a moment. He knew by the look on her face that she had something**

 **that she wanted to tell him but didn't want to say it in front of Ken. They had not said anything to anyone at the office so he thought that**

 **it might have something to do with the baby. He was very happy to hear that they would be going to the doctors on Thursday and that**

 **when they left the office they would have the answers to their many questions.**

 **Perry went to the courthouse later on that morning and stayed away until just about one. He called Della and told her that if she got**

 **hungry to make sure that she went out and got something to eat. But, she told him that she would wait for him to get back that she**

 **wasn't that hungry yet. Her morning sickness was still pretty bad in the morning. Perhaps the doctor could give her an idea on how**

 **she could ease the sickness.**

 **When Perry came back he took Della to their favorite little place and they took their seats at the table. The owner came right over and**

 **congratulated them on their wedding and told them how much he had missed seeing them in the last couple of months. Della ordered**

 **a tossed salad with grilled chicken and Perry ordered himself a ham and cheese and a cup of tomato soup. They enjoyed coming back**

 **to their regular places and the food tasted very good to them. Usually by a little after noon Della felt a little better, so actually having**

 **lunch at one o'clock was perfect for her.**

 **The rest of the day was just a busy day at the office as the two newlyweds caught up on all of the work. There were many clients**

 **who had waited for them to come back to make appointments with Perry himself. They went back to their home that night at six**

 **o'clock.**

 **When they got home Della got dinner going and that night they both enjoyed steak with roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. The**

 **dinner tasted good, it was their real first dinner in their home after work by themselves. They sat at the kitchen table and smiled**

 **at each other. It was nice spending time in their own home and not knowing that Perry was going to be leaving to go home soon. Also,**

 **if someone caught them in the throws of their love they did not have to be embarrassed. 'Besides, now they had the family room and**

 **that was in the back of the house. They would have plenty of warning' Perry laughed to himself.**

 **As they sat down in the family room to watch some television and relax. Della brought in a lemonade and put out the coaster for**

 **the coffee table. She was still having a problem with coffee and could not stand to smell it at all. When she had come into the office**

 **and smelled the brewing coffee she barely kept everything down. Perry had insisted that she eat a little something for breakfast and**

 **it was still hard sometimes. The breakfast was the worst meal.**

 **The next day was spent getting ready for court and going over the case. Ken had been handling the case but the client wanted Perry**

 **to handle the case in court. So both of them would appear along with Della. The client had been charged with forgery and Ken had**

 **hired a handwriting expert who was going to testify that the signature on a check was the person's. The family had claimed that**

 **their client had taken the money illegally when he had known that his boss was too sick to be of the right mind to write the check, and**

 **that he had forged his signature. Unfortunately the man who wrote the check had passed on and the family had insisted that their**

 **client be charged with forgery.**

 **As the day went by Perry spoke in length with the young man and took many notes. "Don't worry. Everything will work out all right.**

 **I know that you are innocent and will make sure that you have all charges dropped." Perry had promised him.**

 **Della filled out all the necessary forms and Perry signed them all and with a little luck they were out of the office that night at**

 **seven. Perry looked at his watch and knew that dinner was going to be very late if they went home. Let's go out and have a**

 **spaghetti dinner tonight, hon. You are very pale and it is too late for us to cook dinner." he told her as he kissed her on the top**

 **of her head.**

 **Della had not wanted to tell him that she wasn't feeling well most of the afternoon. She hoped that the sickness wasn't going to be**

 **an all day thing now. But it could be the nerves of knowing that she was going to the doctors on Thursday and the new house and**

 **their new life or she just ate something that the baby didn't like. She smiled at him and said "You are right, it is very late for me**

 **to go and begin supper, by the time it was done it would be eight thirty. Spaghetti sounds good to me." and with that the two**

 **newlyweds left the office once more arm in arm.**

 **The next day was court and Della and Perry arrived just before nine. The trial went on and on and at five the judge ended it for the**

 **day. Perry had hoped that the trial would be over that day but it was not meant to be. He asked the judge to please allow the**

 **trial to not start until the afternoon tomorrow because of previously made appointments and the judge so ordered. He and Della**

 **breathed a sigh of relief they did not want to have to cancel their appointment at the doctors for tomorrow morning.**

 **Ken and the client were surprised to hear the request but said nothing. Ken had noticed that Perry and Della were talking between**

 **themselves He was wondering what was going on but he knew that he would be told eventually so he left the courtroom for home**

 **with a smile on his face.**

 **Thursday morning finally came and Della took a sample of her morning urine for the doctor as they had requested. She couldn't**

 **wait to find out when the baby was coming for sure and Lori had told her that they might hear the heartbeat too. She got dressed**

 **as she would for work and looked at herself in the mirror. No she did not look pregnant yet, but she would soon. After Sue had**

 **told them that she was pregnant Della noticed the little bump that was growing and she was only about ten weeks further along**

 **than she was.**

 **Perry got up humming to himself. This was the big day. He was excited about going to the doctors and making sure that everything was**

 **all right with the pregnancy. He had made it seventeen days without a smoke and he was starting to feel a little better. If quitting**

 **made it better for the baby and Della it had been all worth it.**

 **As they went into the doctor's office they were let into a small room where Della got into a backless nightie and got up on the table. A**

 **nurse came in and had Della lie down on the examination table. The nurse put a little gel on her stomach and then pressed down with**

 **a small device a few moments later you could hear a sound that sounded almost like a washing machine. It was loud and clear and**

 **the nurse shook her head yes it was a baby.**

 **Della thought that she was going to cry. She definitely was pregnant. She looked over at Perry who had taken her hand and was wiping**

 **the tears from his eyes with the other hand. The nurse asked a couple of questions and then told them the due date that Carla had**

 **given them. They could expect to have the baby on or around May 21st. They were both so excited and when the doctor came in and**

 **gave her an examination he verified the same thing. Della was put on some vitamins and sent to the lab for some lab work and then**

 **sent down for an ultra sound. She laid back down on another table and watched as the technician put some more gel on her stomach**

 **and watched as the view of her stomach appeared on the screen. There it was a little thing with a funny shaped head but you could**

 **see the fingers. The technician showed them everything and they watched with delight. When they were finished they were given two**

 **pictures of their baby and a promise that everything looked fine.**

 **They were both on cloud nine as they headed to get something to eat before court. This called for a special meal at Kavanough's for**

 **the two of them tonight along with five dozen roses for Della. Perry could not wait to tell his parents and Dave. He knew that Della**

 **was waiting until she went to the doctors to tell her parents too. Now that they knew that she was about six and half weeks along and that**

 **the baby would be there in May it was time to let the grandparents to be know.**

 **Court seemed like a blur to Della that afternoon but as usual the client was found innocent of the charge and it was time for another**

 **celebration at the office. He had been innocent and would be going home a free man.**

 **As for Della and Perry left the courthouse to get dressed for their evening out. they held each others hands. Dinner at Kavanoughs was**

 **always a treat and they both dressed up for the evening. Once again Della noticed that her dress was starting to get a little tighter .**

 **She had always had her clothes tailored and now some of them were going to be needed to be let out. Her dressmaker would know**

 **soon that there was a baby Mason on the way and she was proud of it.**

 **Dinner was delightful and the two lovers danced most of the dances. Perry had them seated next to the outside window and they watched**

 **the city from there. Finally after nine they left for home. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day at the office.**


	5. Chapter 5

Paul Barry and Carla got off the ship that had been their home for the past seven weeks with sadness. They had wished that the cruise could have

lasted longer, but it was time for them to go to their new home and start their new life. They had been very lucky as they had married just

eight weeks ago and after five days in the LA area they had been able to take a cruise of a lifetime.

Carla and Barry had seen everything that they could imagine and had learned what it was going to be like living together once they came back

to their new home. They lived just outside of Boston Ma in the town of Framingham. They had both grown up in the small part of Framingham

named Saxonville and had been fortunate to purchase the home of her parents on Johnson St. Carla's parents had just sold their home to

Barry and Carla because they had moved to Florida. They had retired and moved to just outside of Orlando.

The house was in the older part of the town but was just a three minute walk from the high school. The elementary school was close by also

many shops. But because the home was located on a dead end street there was little traffic. They had four bedrooms a large dining room

a large kitchen and a smaller living room. It had a screened in wrap around porch that they spent many warm summer nights sitting out

on. Barry had loved the home when he was dating Carla and when they had put it up for sale they had purchased it right away. .

For now Jim was going to be staying upstairs in one of the bedrooms. He had just gotten out of the service and rather than stay with his

parents he had asked them if he could stay there until he was able to settle down.

When they had arrived home they were pleased to find that Jim had done the lawn for them and had cleaned the home from top to bottom

leaving little work for Carla and Barry to do. Carla loved her brother in law Jim and hoped that everything was going to be ok. His girl friend

Missy was there too and it had made things a little tense within the home. That is why she was getting a hotel room soon, she was treated

nice, but she knew that she was a fifth wheel.

Missy was the only person that Jim had been seeing while he was stationed in Hawaii but he had not been up front about his relationship to

his girl friend Donna here at home. Saxonville was a small town and everyone knew everyone else's business. The talk of the town at this

point was the fact that Jim Drew had brought a girl home and had dumped Donna.

Donna was not very graceful about it either. Even though it was widely known by even Carla and Barry that she had been seeing someone from

town herself she had thrown a fit about Jim bringing a girl home with him and had made quite the scene.

Donna Tatro had been dating a man named Blake Tanner and had at first been quiet about it. But for the past few months they had been openly

dating and she had never shown any shame. Barry had thought about telling Jim but had thought twice about it. After all Jim and Missy seemed

to be happy and he thought that things would work out once his brother got back home.

That was why Jim was surprised when just a week after Barry and Carla had gotten home that he got a call from Donna. She had told him that she

wanted to talk to him about their relationship and had asked him to come over to her house. As Jim pulled into the driveway he noticed that the lights

were on and Donna's car was in the driveway. He knocked several times and got no answer. So he went around the back of the house and found the

door open a little. He walked into the kitchen and called for Donna again. There was no answer and as he stepped through the doorway into the

living room he saw why. On the floor was Donna. She had been hit over the head with a large ash tray it looked liked to him and was dead.

Jim panicked everyone in town knew about what was going on between him and Donna and he was sure that they would think that he had killed her.

Like a panicked person he turn around and ran out of the home. When he got back to his brother's house he sat in the car for a few minutes. What

was he to do? His brother was a cop and he would find out about Donna soon. He should tell him about her, but he was afraid that no one would

believe him. He walked into the home trying to act like everything was normal and smiled at Carla as he went into the kitchen.

Carla had been busy making dinner and asked Jim to set the table for her. He did it but was feeling like a robot. He was worried sick and was sure

that any minute his brother would be there to arrest him. Just then they heard the sound of Barry's car come into the driveway and when Barry came

into the house he had nothing special to say.

Jim breathed a sigh of relief. It meant that he knew nothing of what had happened as of yet. Jim tried his best to act normal but Barry asked him "Is

there something wrong"

For a moment Jim thought about telling his brother but just then his brother got a call. There had been a murder at 1650 Water Street and he was

needed there right away. Barry knew that was Donna's house and looked at his brother who looked worried but not really surprised by the news. "Jim

you need to tell me what happened. Did you see her ? Did you kill her or something.?" he demanded.

"No. I did not kill her. She called me and I did go over to her house, but she was dead when I got there. I just didn't know what to do." Jim told them.

Barry looked at his brother and knew that he did not kill her. He just told him "I will be back and it is in your best interest to talk to the police on your

own. Don't wait for them to look for you. Water St is a busy street and there is a good chance that someone saw you at the house." With that Barry

left the house to help with the investigation of the murder of Donna Tatro.

As Barry went into the home that he had been in so many times he found Donna's new boyfriend Blake Tanner sitting in the kitchen at the table. He

seemed to be genuinely upset. He had gone by the house about two hours ago and had decided not to stop because he had seen Jim's car in the

driveway. She had told him that she was going to tell him that everything was going to be all right. She was going with me and that she was glad

that he had found someone himself. Now Barry knew that his brother was in trouble.

The police sergeant looked over at Barry and told him that he could not work on the case at that time. "You are too close to the people involved and

we are going to need to talk to your brother. I am very sorry about this." he told him.

"I will have Barry go to the police station and talk to you." Barry promised them. He thought about the friend that he had made while he and Carla

had been on the cruise and almost called him. Barry would regret not doing that because within the next twenty-four hours the life of his brother

Jim would change.

By the time that Jim came to the police station he was a nervous wreck. He was brought into an interrogation room where he was questioned for

hours. At the end of the questions Jim found himself charged with the murder of Donna, the girl that he had at one time thought about getting married

to. He could not believe what had happened and he needed a lawyer.

Barry got the call from Jim at just after eight. He had his friend Perry's number and hated to call him but he knew that Perry would be leaving his

office soon if he had not left yet and he needed to talk to him.

Della and Perry had a long day and were just getting ready to leave when they heard the phone ring. Della's first thoughts were to let the phone ring

and let the answering service pick it up. But, they were still there and you never knew who would be calling. When she answered the phone she was

surprised to hear Barry on the other end of the phone. Barry started to tell Della what had happened and she handed the phone right over to Perry.

Perry looked at his wife and she put her hand over the receiver. "He says that his brother Jim has been charged with the murder of his ex girlfriend

and that he needs legal advice. " she told him.

Perry picked up the phone and talked to Barry for a few minutes. "I have a good man out there in Boston by the name of Joseph Milano I will have

him come and speak to Jim right away. In the meantime you tell Jim not to talk to the police about anything at all until his lawyer gets there. " he

warned him.

Barry knew that what he was about to ask his friend was a huge favor but this was for his brother. A good lawyer could mean the difference between

his brothers freedom or his brother spending the rest of his life in jail. "Perry I know that this is asking a lot of you but could you please come out

here to Massachusetts and defend him? He is my brother and I know that you are the best in the business."

Perry thought about it for a minute. Under ordinary circumstances for a friend he would do anything. But, now Della was pregnant and he did not

know if it was good for her to travel and certainly he could not leave her alone while he did a murder investigation. The doctor had said that she

had no restrictions on her movements for the next few months, but he wanted to talk to her first. It was then that he thought of an answer "I will

tell you this: I have a private investigator by the name of Paul Drake who is one of the best in the business. He works with different agencies all

over the country, I will have him call you right away. I will talk to Della and get back to you sometime tonight. Sit tight and do not worry everything

will work out." Perry promised him.

As Della hung up the phone he turned to his wife. She was sitting there at the desk with a very worried expression on her face. "What did he say"

she asked him.

"He wants me to come out to his home and represent Jim. I know that it would be the best for him, but I am worried about you Della. Are you up

to a long ride in an airplane? I don't want to leave you here without me for the whole investigation. We both know that it could take quite a while

for me to find the real murderer." he told her as he took her hands in his.

"Perry I am a big girl and very capable of riding an airplane. I would not leave my friends Barry Jim and Carla without you representing Jim because

of me being pregnant. Everything will be fine. I will call and we can be on the next plane out to Boston tomorrow." she leaned over and gave him a

kiss. "Anywhere you go I go. I love you." she whispered in his ear.

Perry knew that Della would go if she could. He just wanted to make sure that everything was all right. He smiled at her and said "I will call Paul

and ask him to start working on this right away while you call the airlines." and with that Della picked up the phone and called the airlines while

Perry picked up the second phone and called Paul.

With just a few calls Della and Perry found themselves on the way to Boston just two weeks after they had come back from their honeymoon. This

time it was their friends from the cruise who were in trouble. They had spent a few days with Jim and knew that he was the type of many who did

not anger quickly. He felt bad about not being honest with his girl friend back home but had promised that he was going to let her know the truth

as soon as he got home. Now he was charged with her murder and Perry had to find out who the real murderer was.

As they arrived in the city of Boston they noticed the change in the temperature immediately. It was only in the sixties and Della was glad that

she had brought a sweater with her. Perry had his suit coat on so they were all right, but it was a little chilly. They stopped by and picked up

a rent a car and headed to the town of Framingham. As they went over the waterfall that Carla had described to Della they knew that they

were close to Carla and Barry's home. Johnson Street was the second street on the left once they crossed the bridge with the waterfall they had

been told. They looked at all the older large homes that adorned the street and the bikes and signs of children. It was an older part of town but

the houses had been kept up. They rounded the top of the street and rounded the curb and pulled into the driveway of the home number seventy

Johnson Street.

Carla had been watching out of the living room window for her friends to pull up and she sighed a breath of relief when she heard a car pull into

the driveway and saw her friends get out. She went down the stairs and right out to the car to greet them. "We thought that you might not

get here in time. There is a bail hearing in two hours at the courthouse. The courthouse is about twenty minutes from here and Jim really

needs you." she told Perry.

"I am so sorry that we need you right away. I can show you the way to the courthouse and then to a hotel right on route 9. It is close to the

courthouse and not too far from here. There is a Sheraton where I set you up with reservations if that is all right by you." she offered as she

got into the car and told them how to get to the courthouse.

Della smiled at her friend "That will be fine. Don't worry we will take care of everything for you."

Perry asked her "Did my lawyer friend show up?" he asked.

"Oh yes he came right over to the police station and arranged for the bail hearing. He seems to be a very nice man. Thank you so much, we don't

know what we would have done without you two. It is good to see you too." Carla told them.

The courthouse was about five miles from Carla and Barry's home and they were able to find parking and go right into the courthouse. The case

was not to be heard for another half an hour so Della and Perry were shown to the room where they were holding Jim. Perry's friend was already

there and when he saw his old friend and his new wife he smiled and offered them the best of wishes. Joe Milano was an older man in his early

fifties with a good reputation and heart. He was glad that his friend had come out to help with the defense of this young man. The prosecutor

was sure that he had the right man and wanted to talk nothing about bail.

Perry took a seat and talked to Jim. Jim told him the whole story once again and Perry listened intently. "I will get you out of jail on bail of that

I am sure. I already have a man looking into the murder and as soon as I find anything out I will let you know."

Della had filled out the papers for the court requesting permission for Perry to practice law on this one case in Massachusetts. It was just a formality

but a formality that had to be done to cover any courthouse procedures. As soon as the hearing was over he would submit the request to the court

and the answer should be given within the next day or two.

The bail hearing went as they go in California and when Jim came up with the one hundred thousand dollars bail that the court was requesting he

would get out on bail . Jim's parents were there to post bail and he was out within the next two hours. It was then that Perry and Della went to

work. They first stopped at the hotel that their friends had set them up at and then they pulled out their computers. So far there were several

people who could have wanted Donna dead and they needed to look into them. Paul should be calling soon and then they would be on their

way to another mystery solving.

Paul was now in California with his friend again in the east. He had spoken to his contact Bob in Boston and he had promised that he would look

into the murder investigation immediately. But, Paul liked to do his work himself. He paced back and forth across the bedroom floor thinking.

Sue called him down to breakfast and he thought about what he could do.

As the family sat down to breakfast he approached the subject "I was thinking of going to Massachusetts and help Perry out. I don't want to leave you

alone though. What if you came with me Sue for a couple of weeks? We could leave Paul with my parents. They would love to have him and would

take him to school I am sure."

Sue thought about it. She knew that Paul wanted to go and be with his friend and she thought about missing Della. Once again he would be gone for

a while and she would miss him terribly. "I will call your mother and check with the doctor and if everything is all right I think that this time I will

go with you." Sue told him.

"Do you mind staying with Grandma and Grandpa?" Paul asked his son.

"No. I love it when we go there. They let me play computer games all the time." Paul Jr told them.

Sue called the doctor and got the ok and then called Della and asked her to get them a room at the same hotel .Paul and Sue were on their way

to Framingham that afternoon. They were to reach Logan Airport in Boston at nine o'clock their time.

Della had been busy all day looking into the case. She had filled out all of the briefs and Perry had appeared in front of a judge. He now was a

licensed attorney in Massachusetts and Perry was all set to practice law. Of course he would work along side his friend Joe Milano and together

they would make a good team.

The town was larger than Della and Perry had thought and right down the road from the hotel were many restaurants and shops. They would have

no problem finding a place to eat while they were there. Perry and Della went that afternoon over to the house on water street where Donna had

been murdered. It was a ranch and the street was a busy one. Just down the street was a large church and a small shopping mall. There would

have been many people who would have gone by the house that day. Someone must have seen something.

The two of them walked around the room with Jim who showed them what he had done exactly that day . They saw nothing, the police department

had done a good job. Della took many pictures of the area and they left.

The three of them headed back to Barry and Carla's house. They took a seat out on the large porch and had a little talk. "I am going to need to have

all of the names of the people who would have had contact with Donna in the last few weeks. Where she worked and what she liked to do for enter-

tainment. I also want to talk to the neighbors. Do you know any of them"

"We know all of the neighbors. We have been over to Donna's house many times. We all grew up together and went to school together too. She worked

at the local Cumberland Farms just down the street from her home. If you go down to the end of the street here and turn right at the end of the road

you will find Cumberland Farms." Carla offered them.

"All right we will start there and see what the other workers to say about Donna. See if there was any problem at work. Paul Drake a man that has

worked with us on many cases is on his way to help us out with the case. Do you have any other ideas?"

Just then Barry came onto the porch. The word at the station is that Donna has been a little wild since Jim has been gone. She was dating another

man a Craig Gordon just before she started going out with Blake. He lives in the town of Sudbury. That is just a few miles from here also. They

say that he didn't seem to upset that Donna was dead." he offerered.

Della and Perry went over to the Cumberland Farms. They met with a girl Nancy Sterns who had worked with Donna the day before. She was not

acting though anything was happening bad. She had felt bad about her and Jim. She even talked about maybe going back with him if he would have

her. She had met Missy that day and had seen why Jim had been interested in her. She was so pretty and was not from a small town like Donna.

Donna had been very jealous of her.

Della looked at her watch and saw that it was now after five and she was getting hungry. It had been a long day and she knew that they were in for

a long night. Paul and Sue would be at the hotel by nine. As they headed back to Route 9 to their hotel they found a place to eat. The place was

called Ken's Steak House. It looked as though the food might be good and Della had read in a brochure that it was a very famous place around

the state and that they even sold their own salad dressing to local supermarkets.

They took their seats in the room with the working fireplace and sat down to one of the best steak dinners they had in a long time. The potatoes

and corn on the cob were both done to perfection. The salad dressing was delicious and they were not surprised that it was a popular dressing among

the locals.

Next door was a large store, one of the big box types, but Della needed a few things so they stopped there on their way back to the hotel. They

listened to the talk of the people both at the restaurant and at the store. The murder was utmost on the people's mind. After all Barry was a police

officer and his brother had been charged with murder.

Meanwhile Paul and Sue had finally arrived in Boston. By the time they got their bags and rent a car it was already nine o'clock. They pulled into

the hotel at just a few minutes before ten and were met by their friends Della and Perry.

That night the four of them got together and went over the case. Perry let Paul know what he had found out and Paul told them about what his

man in the town had found out. Paul wanted to watch Missy and this other lady who was now dating Craig Gordon. Something about the murder

made him think that it was a woman who had murdered her. Paul was not sure why but that was his gut feeling. So he headed over with Perry

to sit outside of Darlene Grover's home and see what happened. Della and Sue would stay at the hotel and work from their computers .

Meanwhile Perry and Paul were glad too get back to work together. As they pulled up to the hotel where Missy was staying they noted that the

lights were on and her rent a car was in the driveway. Carla and Barry had not felt that it was in good taste to have her stay at her house because

of the murder investigation. Jim was already in enough trouble.

They sat back and started to watch the room from a safe distance. This was going to be a test for Perry. He had not been out with his friend on

a boring stakeout without smoking. Paul would be smoking and the urge was there still for Perry but he swallowed hard and made up his mind

that he was not going to give in to the cravings this night either. He was glad to be back with his friend and it was strange to be in an area that

neither one of them knew.

They looked out at the scenery. The leaves had turned to all different colors and they were bright even at night. The streetlights made the colors

on the trees strange. If they had time before they went home they should take the time to go on a trip to look at the foliage, but for now they

had a murder investigation and they were concentrating on that.

Nothing happened until a little after ten when Jim stopped by. Missy opened the door and let him right in. He stayed for about an hour and then

they watched as he got into his car and left. All was quiet until about eleven thirty when Craig Gordon came in. They were very interested on

why he would be coming to Missy's room so Paul went over to the window and listened the best he could. They were arguing Craig wanted Missy

to go back home and leave everything alone. "We have enough trouble without you coming here." he told her.

"I am here making sure that Jim is treated right. He is my boyfriend and no one is taking him from me!" she shouted at him.

As Craig left the room he slammed the door and Paul acted as though he was just a guest at the hotel out for a smoke. Craig didn't seem to even

notice him and so he walked past the door and kept walking until he was sure that he was gone. He then went back to his car and took a seat

next to his friend. He told him what was said and Perry shook his head to acknowledge. The two men stayed in the car until way past midnight

and decided to head back to the hotel.

Meanwhile Della and Sue had studied all the on line sites that Donna and Craig and Craig's girl friend had been on and what they had been up

to for the past few weeks. She also looked into the girl Nancy the girl that they had talked to at Cumberland Farms. It was good to be back at

work even though she was now on the other side of the country. Sue knew her job and was good at looking into the things that had been going

on here in Framingham for the past few months. They were still busy reading when the two men came back from their stake out.

It was not that bad for them after all it was only nine thirty California time. So they all sat down and went over their notes. So far there were

four people that they were checking out. Paul was going to go over bank and credit reports on everyone in the morning. So far they had no

real idea who was the murderer, but tomorrow they would talk to the people at the small shopping center down the street. Also there was a

large Methodist church just down the street with a service at ten. That was where they might be able to get more information. They would

attend church the next morning and talk to the minister and the people who were there that were willing to talk to them.

As they approached the church they were impressed. The church was a large church with natural woodwork throughout. The building was

not very old and there was a large congregation. They enjoyed the services and then went to meet the minister. The people were interested

in the strange people who had come to their church that day. When they found out that it was the famous Perry Mason and Paul Drake most

of them were more than willing to talk. They had heard that the men were in town and many of the people came to them not the other way

around.

The minister told them that there would be more people there for the eleven o'clock service and that he would tell them that they were there

if they would like. The four of them thanked him for his interest and time. Most of the people were just being a little nosey but a young man

of thirteen named Timothy Barnes caught Perry and Paul's interest. It seemed that he had been sick that day and he had been home alone

all day. He lived across the street from Donna Tatro and her family. He had seen one other car that day it had been a green convertible

and it had stayed for about twenty minutes. He had never seen the car before.

Paul took out his notebook and wished that Tim had taken down the license plate number. It was then that he remembered the green convertible

that Missy had been driving. He asked him if the convertible could have been a mustang. Tim thought that it could have been but he was not

sure of it.

Paul and Perry looked at each other and thought that perhaps they should speak to Missy as soon as they left the church that morning. They

hoped that she was not the one that they were looking for. They all liked her.

When the four friends went to Saxonville to see Carla and Barry Paul loved the house. It had all kinds of flowers in the front and had a large

floral garden in the side yard. The wrap around porch looked nice and drew the attention to the house as a friendly place for a family to

live in. Carla told him that she had nothing but good memories here in her home and could not wait for her and Barry to have a child to

fill all of the empty rooms. Della and Sue smiled as they thought of the babies that they were both carrying and Della felt Perry's arms go

around her shoulder once again. They were so blessed, but now they had to find out about this green convertible.

Perry asked Carla and Barry if they knew anyone that had a green convertible and they said no. He went on to tell them about who the young

man named Tim who lived across the street had seen a car matching that description the day that Donna was murdered. Barry had been keeping

a sharp eye on anything that had come through the police station and heard nothing about a green convertible. He called one of his friends at

the police station and asked him. He checked the information and verified that they had not heard the rumor.

Barry was well aware that Missy had a green convertible and that she had rented the car that day. He hoped that his brother's girl friend had

not gone over to Donna's house and confronted her. They would have to confront her. Just then Missy and Jim pulled up together and they

all knew that this was going to be the time that they would need to talk to her.

As Missy and Jim took their seats on the porch everyone's eyes turned to Missy. Perry looked her directly in the eye and asked her "Did you

see Donna the day that she was murdered? We have a witness that saw you at her house at about the time of the murder." He used his large

eyes to let her know that he was not fooling around. Barry and Carla had never seen that look in their friends eyes and knew that this was

how he got the truth from people.

Missy looked at Mr. Mason and then down at her lap "All right I admit it. I did go there to talk to her. She already had a boyfriend she did

not need Jim. I just wanted to talk to her but the back door was open and I walked in calling her name. I was about to turn around and go

back to my car when I saw her lying there on the floor. She was dead when I got there I swear." she started to cry "Please MR. Mason believe

me. I was scared here I was at my boyfriend's ex girl friends house and she had been murdered. I panicked and left right away."

Perry looked at her and believed what she said "All right I believe you but you should have told me this on your own. Is there anything else

that I should know?" he asked.

Missy just shook her head no.

This put them back to square one and now they needed to look one more time into their other suspects. Perry was sure that Missy had nothing

to do with the murder, but someone had killed Donna and he needed to find out who. Paul was going over to the courthouse to do some

digging into the family and he was waiting to go over the financial records that were on file with Donna and her family. She had a mother

father and two brothers also. Donna's funeral was to be the next day and Carla and Barry would be going . Jim wanted to go but was going

to speak to Donna's father first.

The four friends from California headed back to their hotel room and went to work once again. Paul and Sue left together to go work at the

courthouse and Perry went to work on filing different motions. Della worked on the computer and the sites of the suspects once more. The

afternoon was a very busy one and Paul and Sue did not show up until after six that night.

They had some luck at the courthouse. Donna's brother Dan had been in trouble before with the law. He was known as a troublemaker and had

been to jail for assault twice. He had been thrown out of the house just two weeks before the murder. The police were out looking for him but

had not found him. They were going to be at the funeral and they would talk to him then. Perry and Paul wanted to get to him first , so

Carla said that she would call her parents and talked to them. She had known them her whole life. Della was glad to see that Carla called her

back so soon. Perhaps it was a sign of good luck. It was and Donna's mother and father and her brother Dan would be there too.

They would see them at eight that evening and that gave them enough time to go and get something to eat. All along Route 9 there were

many places and so that night they went Chinese. The place looked good and so the four of them went out to dinner. Della and Perry were

gong to be the ones to meet with Donna's parents and Paul and Sue were going to be going over their notes.

Della and Perry picked up Carla and Barry and headed over to Donna's house. They met each of the family members and listened intently to

them as Donna's parents told them what they knew. Donna had told them that she wanted to break up with Blake. He was not the one

that she wanted to spend her life with. In fact she had told them that she called Jim to ask him to take her back. She really liked Jim and

had been sorry about cheating on him. But he had a girl friend in Hawaii too, so she had hoped that he would find it in his heart to forgive

her. The last time they had seen her alive was at eight that morning when they had left for work.

"Dan had nothing to do with the murder. He was at work himself all day. Neil our younger son was at school. When we came home all of our

lives were shattered. We have asked everyone if they had seen anyone that day but most of our neighbors were at work." they told them.

It had been a long day and Perry was still at his wits end on who the murderer was. Each and everyone had checked out now Paul was

going to watch Nancy the girl from the store where Donna had worked.

The next two weeks were spent with many night stake outs and interviews of many people and the court date was coming up. There was going

to be a hearing in twenty days and there was nothing. Every day they spent time at the courthouse and they studied everything that they

could learn on the computer.

They had been there for over two and a half weeks and Sue was going to have to go home. She could not stay away from Paul Jr much longer

and she needed to go see the doctor. She was now five months pregnant and she was going to be seeing the doctor every three weeks now.

Della was going to need to leave for a short time too. Her appointment was going to be the Monday after Thanksgiving. Perry and Della knew

that everyone was going to have to go home for a short time. Perry got the court to change the date of the trial to the Wednesday after

Thanksgiving so that Della could be with him during the trial.

Each and every day Perry and Della worked feverishly trying to find out who the murderer was. Paul and Perry spent the night almost every

night looking for the murderer but so far had not found the person as of yet. They did have information on one of her co workers who had

been jealous of her and Blake. Also Gordon's girl friend was a suspect himself. She had been very angry about the little triangle that they

had and had no alibi.

The four of them spent hours looking into everyone and nobody seemed to fit. The murderer was out there someplace and they knew it, but

the murderer was eluding them. Now the trial was just ten days away and Sue had already gone home to be with her son. Now it was time

for them to go back to LA for Thanksgiving and for Della to go to the doctor's office.

Della missed Lori even though they spoke nearly everyday. Lori and Della sent each other pictures of their belly and Lori was starting

to get quite a belly. She still did not show when she had her clothes on but when she lifted her shirt to show everyone her belly, the

baby was beginning to show. Della did not show yet and she could not wait until she did.

The ride back to LA was long and boring and it felt good to touch ground. The three of them took a limo back to their homes just two days before

the Thanksgiving dinner. Della wanted to have everyone over for dinner and had been honored when Perry's mother and father had agreed to

come to their home and celebrate. There would be Della Perry Dave Lori and Mike there for the feast. Della was going to make the traditional

dinner with all the fixings and was very excited.

The next day Lori came over and she and Della spent the day making pies and fudge together. They would peal the potatoes and the squash

the next day. Della heard the doorbell and went to answer it. She was thrilled Dave and his parents had arrived. She called Perry over their

PA system and let him know that his family was there.

The dinner was wonderful and everyone was excited about the babies that were on their way. Even though she really did not need to Lori was

now wearing a maternity shirt that had an arrow pointing to her stomach saying baby. The whole day went well and the men went out to the

workshop while the women cleaned up after the dinner.

That weekend Lori and Della went shopping on Black Friday. There were some good deals out there but the lines at the registers were long

and Della wondered if it was worth the trouble. But she did finish most of her shopping. Perry was so hard to buy for. The man had everything

that anyone could want and more, but she finally found a new watch that she thought that he would like. His watch worked twice a day now

ever since he had dropped it. Della had brought it to the jewelers but it was not worth how much it was going to cost to fix it. It was going

to be better to buy a new one. Perry thought that his watch was still at the store.

Monday came and Perry and Della headed out to the doctor's office. They lay on the table and listened to the baby once again. The heart

was good and strong and the doctor said that the baby was doing well. He saw no problem with Della going back out to Framingham and

the two of them breathed a sense of relief.


	6. Chapter 6

Perry and Della arrived back at Logan Airport and rented another car. They had been fortunate . They would be going into the same room that

they had been staying at before and relaxed as they arrived that Wednesday. Perry knew that Paul wanted to stay home another day with

his family and so he would wait to work with him.

Everything was the same at the town and there was no real news. The trial was to begin on Monday and Perry was very frustrated. He knew

that he was missing something so he and Della had been studying the statements that they had from the people they had spoken to. It was too

late when they arrived at the hotel to call anyone in the area and they knew that Carla was at work, so they decided to rest up for a long day at

work tomorrow. The plane ride had been a long and monotonous one and they needed to rest. The view from the hotel room was not a very good

one. Just down the street was route 9. Route 9 was a built up street full of business and construction. There was always something going on the

road they had noticed since they had been there.

Framingham was a town of about sixty thousand people, and most of the people were professionals. The schools appeared to be good and the homes

and neighborhoods for the most part were family friendly. The Boston Marathon began from just a few miles from there in the town of Hopkinton. They

could see why Barry and Carla were both happy there.

Perry stood there at the widow looking out and thinking about the murder. This was not good the trial was to begin on Monday and although he had

several people as suspects he was still not sure who the murderer was. Della came up to him and put her arm on his. He looked over at his beautiful wife

and smiled. He patted her on the arm and said "I just don't know about this Della. Somewhere out there is a murderer and we need to find that person

soon"

Della cupped his chin in her hand and said "I know I know. We will figure it out."

Perry bent down and kissed her passionately and then they stood in silence at the window thinking. That night they went to bed very early for in

California time it was only nine o'clock. Della could hear Perry sleeping and could not sleep. This case was bothering her, so she got up and started

looking at some more of the witness statements. She was busy reading when Perry woke up to find himself alone in the bed. He looked over to find

Della seated at the desk reading. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Oh, yes it's just that it is too early for me. I am a night person and it is only 10 o'clock our time now. I'm sorry that I woke you." and with that she

shut the light off and climbed into bed. She put her arm around her husband and as they cuddled together she was finally able to fall asleep.

The next morning Della and Perry got up early and headed out to speak to Jim once again. They had been gone for the past five days and hoped

that he had something new to tell them. Barry had been working himself on finding out who he thought might have committed the crime and as

a police officer he had an inside view even though he had not been allowed to work on the case.

As they pulled into the street where the Drews lived Perry and Della parked in the front of the home. Carla was at home and seated outside on the

front porch. She went in the door and called to Barry and Jim and the two men came right out. Della and Perry took a seat on the outside couch

and leaned back to listen to what had been happening since they had left.

Barry was very worried for his brother and the lack of sleep showed in his face. He trusted his good friend Perry but there had been nothing really

too new in the case since Perry and Della had left. They had been keeping an eye on some of the suspects in their spare time but nothing had

happened while they had been watching them.

Perry and Della had been looking into Blake Tanner when they had left. He had been the one to find Donna dead and he did have a good reason to

murder her if she had called Jim that day to tell him that she wanted him back. He had a reputation as a rough character and had been in several

fights during his young life. He had been charged and paid a fine for an assault on a woman three years ago. Perry thought that he and Della should

go out and meet with the woman. She was now married and it had taken some looking but Barry had found her name and address. Della gave her

a call and she agreed to speak with her and Perry if they could come right over. She was to go at work at twelve and it was already ten o'clock. Della

and Perry headed to her home which was located in the town of Natick. As they pulled into the tree lined street they saw the home where Amanda

Brighton now lived. It was a small cape with a two car garage. The house was well kept and the car in the driveway was a new Honda. She was

doing all right for herself he thought.

As they pulled up in front of the house Amanda met them at the front door. She was a young lady in her early twenties and she welcomed them into

her large living room. She offered them a cup of coffee but Della still did not feel good around it. They politely said no and took their seats on the

comfortable couch.

Amanda spoke quietly when she talked about her relationship with Blake. "Blake was like a child. When he did not have his way he could be very

violent. One time when I told him that I had other plans when he asked me out he threw a rock at my car. We broke up that night but he called

everyday sometimes as many as ten times and finally I gave in. Our relationship was all right for a while but then he pushed me one night when

he thought I looked at another man. The last straw was when he got mad at me because I worked one night when he wanted to go to a baseball

game. He beat me severely and I ended up in the hospital for three days. When he turned his attention to Donna I felt sorry for her, but he

had seemed to have settled down and maybe he was not abusive towards her." she told them.

Della was watching her the whole time and thought that perhaps she had not told them everything. She asked her "Have you heard from Blake

lately?"

Amanda stopped and looked down. "My husband knows the whole story and has done everything to protect me from Blake. That is why on the

day after the murder when Blake called me I was surprised. He wanted me to tell the police that I had seen him the day of the murder and I

told him no. He said that the police thought might think that he had something to do with the murder and that he was innocent. After Jim Drew

was arrested I just figured that he was the murderer and have tried to forget about the call. Do you think that the murderer really is not Jim but

someone else?" she asked them.

"I know Jim Drew personally and am sure that he is innocent. We are here trying to find out who the murderer is. Jim is innocent but Donna is

dead and someone killed her." he told her.

Amanda looked at the two of them seriously and told them "If I hear anything else I will call you. I hope that what I told you helps you with this

case." and with that she let them out of the house.

Della and Perry knew that Blake was violent but they wanted to talk to him again. Why would he want Amanda to lie about where he was on that

day? It was now dinner time and Perry was supposed to be meeting with his co attorney Joe and Della would go back to Carla's house to talk

to Carla and Barry some more. Perry would come back when he was done.

As Perry walked into his friends office he was met by a middle aged secretary who announced to his friend that Perry Mason was there. Joe came

out and the two men shook hands. Perry took a seat and Joe and he spent the rest of the afternoon going over briefs and notes that had been

sent over from the district attorneys office. His friend had done a very good job of sorting everything and Perry brought some of the information

back with him when he got back to pick up Della. They were going to be ready for court and to file just a few more motions and get some more

subpoenas they were going to meet at the courthouse at nine the following morning.

Paul was on his way to Boston one more time to see his friends. He was going to be looking into once again the life of Blake and a few other people

who had a reason to want Donna dead. He was not sure that the person had gone to the home with the thought of murder. He thought that there

might have been an argument and that the murderer had hit her over the head in a fit of rage. That sounded more like something that someone

like Blake Tanner would do.

Perry had just gotten back to Carla and Barry's home when Paul called. He had arrived at Logan Airport and was on his way. He told him to come

on over to Carla and Barry's house and they would make plans for the night Carla had fixed them a dinner and she said that there was going to

plenty for one more person. Della had gone into the kitchen to help Carla with the work while the men talked about the case and tried to come up

with some new ideas. The weather was still reasonably warm for those that were from Massachusetts but Perry was used to the warmer weather

and he was a little chilly out on the porch.

As Paul arrived at the house Della and Carla were just taking the shepherds pie out of the oven. They had made a large meal for all of them along

with a tossed salad. Carla knew that Della was not drinking because of the baby so she had made some iced tea. When Della looked up she was

glad to see Paul entering the kitchen along with her husband. They were the best of friends and worked together. Between the three of them

she hoped that they would figure out what had happened the day of the murder.

Paul was glad to have a good meal before he hit the streets and took over his job once more as investigating the murder. The meal was very good

and when he was finished he knew that he was ready to get back to work. He did not want to stay in this part of the country for too long his wife

Sue was almost six months pregnant and he didn't like leaving her for so long. But the trial was to begin in just four more days and he had to find

out who the murderer was.

The meal was lively and afterward Della helped Sue with the dishes and the men cleaned up the table and took out the extra leaves that had been

added to make room for the guests. When they left that night it was after nine eastern time and yet Perry Della and Paul were ready for work it was

only six o'clock their time.

They stopped at the hotel and Paul left his car there. The car that Della and Perry had rented was a larger car and they could all three sit in the

front seat together and watch the house. Something about the way that Amanda had acted that day and the fact that she had said that Blake

had asked her to give him an alibi made him suspicious. So the three of them decided to sit outside of the home and see what was going on

with that home.

They watched as a young man pulled his car into the driveway and went into the house. He was there for about a half an hour and then he left

once again. They had not been sitting there long when Blake Tanner showed up at the house. The interesting thing about it was that he did not park

in front of the home. He parked down the street and around the corner. But when he knocked on the door he was welcomed right inside. He stayed

there about twenty minutes and had just left when the man who had left earlier came back. They were sure that the man was Amanda's husband

Carl. They sat out in the car until eleven when all of the lights in the house went out. So things might not be as they appear, they would have

to check out Amanda and his wife. They wanted everything that they could get on the Brighton's and they would start with their finances.

The three of them walked into the hotel together and Paul signed in. They went up to Perry and Della's room and went over everything. "I want

you to look up the finances of the Brighton's. Find out from their neighbors what you can. Perry told Paul.

"I will get on it first thing in the morning." Paul told them.

"In the meantime I want Della and I to check on the Tatro family a little closer. We are going to recheck on their whereabouts on the day of the

murder once again. I want to make sure that her brother could not leave the school property or had not on that day. The school is not that far from

the home." Perry told them.

Della could see that Perry was very upset and worried. She put her arm on his shoulder and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. He took her

hand and just looked at her with his large caring eyes. With that Perry and Della went to work on the information that Perry's friend and lawyer Joe

had found. There were tons of papers and lots of information for them to go through. Paul had left to get his room ready and they continued to work

until one. Della felt that it was fine for her because it was only ten their time. The time difference was significant and hard to get used to.

The next morning came very early for them. The three of them were used to getting up early but seven o'clock was four o'clock in California. Della

woke up to the sound of Perry shaving and could see by his desk that he had been up for a while. She stretched and looked down at her little tiny

belly and was beginning to think that maybe she wasn't pregnant.

Perry looked over and saw Della looking at herself in the mirror and smiled. "Don't worry you are only three months along. Sue told me that she

didn't show with Paul until she was six months along. You look great to me." and with that he leaned over and gave her a passionate kiss good

morning.

They had just gotten dressed when Paul knocked on the door. He was heading out to the town hall and the courthouse to check on Amanda and Carl

Brighton and would keep in touch with them throughout the day. They went downstairs and got some breakfast together. Finally the morning sickness

was starting to go away and Della was able to eat a good breakfast that morning. She could now stand the smell of coffee also and Perry was thrilled

when she told him. He savored his first cup of coffee in almost six weeks. Della thought that she would wait until she tried for a few more days. 'No need

to press my luck' she thought to herself.

When Della and Perry arrived at the school, they were met by some resistance. The school would not release any information on any student without

a court order. So, with that Perry called Joe Milano and found him already at the courthouse. Joe added the court order to his list and said that the order

would be served immediately due to the trial starting on Monday.

The next person that they wanted to check on was Donna's parents once more. They had spoken to everyone that they could reach in the neighborhood

and now they wanted to check on their whereabouts at work and make sure that the information that they had was correct. It was and everything on

their end again checked out. They had both been at work when they had received a call telling them of an emergency at home.

Meanwhile Paul had been busy checking up on the Brighton's. Carl Brighton worked for his father as a security guard for a local company that kept an eye

on businesses in the area. The business was doing all right, but the father controlled all of the purse strings. He owned the house that Carl and Amanda

lived in and forced his son to work many hours a week. The cars that they owned belonged to his father John also.

Amanda worked at the Natick Mall at the Sears store in the ladies department. She only worked part time and made a minimal wage. Also, she was pregnant

about four months. Talk around town was that the baby belonged to Blake Tanner. The neighbors said that there had been many arguments at the home

and that the police had been there several times.

With that information Paul headed to the Natick Police Department. At the police department Paul was given more information than he had thought. Under

the freedom of information act they let him see the Brighton's folder. Amanda and Carl had been in many arguments and Carl had been physically abusive

towards her many times. He and his father ran a security business together and the son had been trouble since he was a teenager. It was quite apparent

by the police officers notes that they were not fond of Carl at all.

The day had gone well and Perry met with Joe at his office at one o'clock. With the subpoena in hand he went to the school. The administrator immediately

went to the files and handed any information they had on Donna's brother for that day and before. Perry and Della did not have the time to sit there and

read the entire folder so they copied every paper in it. The folder was thick and they wanted to study the information.

They spoke to his guidance teacher "Neil is a good kid most of the time, but he has been hanging with that dreadful Blake Tanner and has gotten into a

little trouble here at school lately. More than once he has gone to lunch and not returned here."

"Did he leave the school on the day of the murder?" Perry asked. He then looked into the folder and saw that he had been at school that morning but had

not been at school that afternoon at all.

The three friends would have a lot to go through before court on Monday. There were pages and pages or briefs for Perry so he once more met with his

friend Attorney Joe Milano and Paul and Della headed back to talk to the girl who had worked with Donna. As they came into the driveway they saw

Nancy coming out of the store. She had told them that she was going to be getting out of work and she came right over to them and took a seat in

the car.

"I have heard some things while I have been working here. Many of the things that people say are pure rumors, but one of the things that I heard was

that her brother had snuck out of school that day and that he should have been home. He is always hanging around with Donna's boyfriend Blake when

he should be in school. Blake said that he went by the house and I wonder if he stopped by or near the house to pick up Neil that day." she told them

in a worried tone. "I think that Neil is a good kid, but he is headed for trouble."

Della and Paul looked at each other they wanted to talk to Neil. Nancy left the car and they thanked her. Della called the Tatro house and got Donna's

father. This time he was not cooperative. "I was told that you got a court order to find out where my son was on that day. How dare you do that to

our son? He did nothing but skip school that day. Lots of kids do that, you will have to subpoena him to court if you want to talk to him." he told her

and then hung up.

Della looked at Paul. She did not want to go that route but she called Perry who was still with his friend and he told her "All right Della I will get a subpoena

for Neil. If we don't need him to testify I just won't call him to the stand. But just in case we need to talk to him I will get an order."

The three friends worked feverishly that weekend to get ready for court and Monday morning at eight o'clock they all met at the courthouse. It was now

a familiar building to the people who had come out from California to save a friend of theirs from a lengthy prison sentence and they were all worried.

The judge was a man in his fifties who had a reputation for toughness . The opening statements were made and the first few witnesses were the police

and the forensics. There were the fingerprints that had been found on the ashtray and the front and back door. However, Jim smoked and had been

at the Tatro home many times. The fingerprints meant nothing according to Perry Mason.

Every one of the witnesses that had been subpoenaed had arrived at the court and some of them had been subpoenaed by the district attorney also. The

lady that worked for the district attorneys office was named Sandy Fisher. She had graduated at the top of her class from Harvard Law school and was

known as a brilliant attorney. She was smart knowledgeable and carried herself very well. To top it off she was a very nice looking lady with naturally

blonde hair and blue eyes. She made a good impression with the people of the jury and Perry could tell by their looks.

It was when the police detective took the stand that Perry first asked many questions of the man "When you checked the room where the murder was

did you notice any shoe prints? And if you did whose did you find?

The floor had been recently polished and yes there were several prints on the floor. The problem was that there were too many for us to get a good

print. By the time the police had come in we know that at least five people had been in the room already." he told Mr. Mason.

"What about on the outside? Were there any footprints outside that could not be accounted for?" Perry asked him.

"No. All of the fingerprints appeared to be of friends people that should have been there." he told him.

"Did you check for tire tracks? And if so what did you find?" Mr. Mason asked

"There were four tire tracks that we were able to identify who had been there that day. It had rained that day and one was Jim Drew's, two belonged to

Donna's parents and the other belonged to a green convertible that was rented by Jim's girl friend Missy." the detective told him.

"Thank you sir. That will be all." and with that the detective stood down from the witness stand.

It was now noon time and the court recessed until two that afternoon. Everyone went out to eat at the local café and Perry was worried. Nothing was

coming together. He knew who the murderer was now, but he had to find a way to prove it. He was not eating dinner, he was just poking at his food

and Della took his hand from under the table. Perry smiled, she was his strength and they would prove Jim's innocence together of that he was confident

he just did not know how.

The rest of the day was dedicated to the prosecution part of the trial and when it came four thirty court was adjourned for the day. The court would

begin at nine the following day. It had been a long day and Perry wanted to have Paul look into Missy a little further. They really knew little about

her and her life in Hawaii and she was the only one that had left tire marks in the driveway that afternoon.

Paul told them that as soon as he finished dinner, he would go to work on Missy. He had a friend who worked in Hawaii and the man was very good at

his job. "He should have an answer for me by tomorrow morning." Paul told them.

That night the three friends ate at Ken's Steak House once again. It was beginning to become one of their favorite places to eat. Between there and

the Cheesecake Factory that was just down the street Della thought that she might have to really let her clothes out soon. She was getting a huge

appetite and everything looked good to her.

Perry looked up at Paul and smiled. They both were watching Della eat enough for three they thought. The poor woman had not been able to eat much

for the past few weeks and she was making up for it now. She even ordered a desert that night.

Each of them worked hard that night looking up the information that they had and going over the minutes of the trial. Perry and Della finally got to bed

at just before midnight and got up early once morning the next day.

The courtroom was jammed packed and there was standing room only that day. The word on the street that the great Perry Mason was going to start

his defense sometime today and people wanted to see him at work. Della smiled, she was proud of her husband. He was the best of the best and she

and many others knew it. She wasn't surprised that people had come from as far as Boston and had been turned down for a seat that day. Perry did

not like it because the trial was turning into a media circus. Sometimes the media could convict a person almost.

Each and every witness for the prosecution took the stand and hurt Mr. Mason's client. They brought forth two people who had driven by the house that

day and saw Jim's car at the house at about the time of the murder.

One of the neighbors saw Jim leaving the house in a hurry at about the time that he had told Perry that he was there. Time after time no one saw anyone

else at the house. There was a way for people to get to the back of the house, but they would have to walk the back path that ran along the river. That

is when Perry decided to have Paul go down to that path once again and question the people that he saw jogging down there.

Paul headed back down to that path. He had been down there a couple of weeks ago but had no luck. This time he would stay right behind the Tatro

house and as he stood there, he saw a group of teenagers walking down the path. He walked over to them and introduced himself. "Do you kids use this

lane to walk to school normally?" he asked.

"Of course we do. This is the safest way for us to walk. The road out there is dangerous. The cars go fast and the sidewalks are not shoveled half the

time. The town keeps this plowed all the time and we can walk right to our homes." one of the girls told him.

"Is this the way that Neil Tatro goes" Paul asked.

The teens looked down and then the girl told him "Yes. We walk together many times. But on the day of the murder he wasn't at school that afternoon"

she volunteered.

"Did anyone see anything that day when you were coming home? This would have been around this time." Paul asked.

He watched the faces of the teenagers that he was talking to and saw that they were hesitating. "I am sorry to have to ask you this but a man's life is

at stake and we need to know the truth. That is when Karen Lang spoke up "When we were coming down the lane that day we saw Blake Tanner

coming down the hill from the Tatro home. I wanted to tell the police, but everyone said mind your business. I am sorry."

It was then that the group told Paul that they had seen him.

Paul went right to the courthouse and met with Perry and Della as they were getting ready to leave for the day. Paul told them about what the

youngsters had told him and Perry went right back into the courthouse to get subpoenas for the young students. They were young but to his pleasure it

turned out that Karen Lang was a senior and now eighteen and considered an adult. She would be his best witness.

Paul and Della took a seat out in the hallway and waited for Perry to finish with his work. They watched the people from this large eastern town as

they went by. Each of them nodded hello as they went by and within twenty minutes the three of them were on their way back to the hotel. They

would change into more casual clothes and then head over to Carla and Barry's after they had their dinner.

Perry wanted his friends to know that everything was indeed going to be ok and that he thought the trial would be over tomorrow. They now had

proof who the murderer was and all that was left for Perry to do was to trap him.

Perry called is friend Joe Milano and told him what they had found out. This was a big relief to his friend also. They now just had to set a trap for

Blake Tanner and their friend Jim would soon be free from any charges.

The next morning the prosecution called Blake Tanner to the witness stand. He was sitting there all smug and smiling as he testified that he came

to the home of his girl friend's house and found her dead on the floor. He tried his best to look sad but it did not work. Della went out and got

the teenagers that had seen him come down the hill that fateful afternoon and Perry watched his face change. Blake was temporarily confused and

seemed to lose his train of thought as he watched them file into the courtroom. Each and everyone of them looked at him and then took their

seats.

Drama was something that Perry Mason was famous for and everyone's eyes turned as the four teenagers filed into the courtroom. It was time

for Perry to do his job. Perry stood up from his table and walked over to Blake Tanner and stared at him with his large and threatening eyes. "Blake

what time did you arrive at the scene? I know that you testified it was after three thirty, but didn't you go there before that?" he demanded.

"No I did not I saw Jim Drew's car in the driveway and left." Blake testified.

"Where did you go?" Perry asked him.

"I just drove around for a while and then went by again. This time Jim's car was gone and I went into the house. I knocked and got no answer but

the door was partly ajar. I then walked in and found my girl friend's body on the floor in the living room." he testified.

"Blake do you know of a joggers path that runs along the river?" Mr. Mason asked him.

For a second Blake looked a bit worried. "Yes."

"I have witnesses in this room right now that are here to testify that you were seen leaving the Tatro s house as they walked home from school. That

was just shortly after three that afternoon." Perry told him.

This time Blake was sweating and fidgeting in his chair. "So what. They have the wrong time. That's all." he told him smugly.

"No they have the right time. You never said that you went down on the joggers trail that day. I submit that you saw Jim Drew's car in the driveway

and got angry. You parked your car down the street probably at the small mall down the street and walked down the joggers trail to the back of

the home. I submit that you had an argument with Donna that day. She had told her parents that she wanted to go back with Jim. I think that in

a fit of anger you struck Donna over the head with the ashtray. You then saw Jim's car and slipped back out the back of the house. You walked back

and got your car. Once Jim left you went to the home from the front and claimed that you found the body of your girl friend."

Blake looked at him and smiled "She thought that she was just going to leave me. She thought that she could just walk away free. I had done everything

for her and she wanted to stop it all. She laughed at me, but now look who is laughing." he told the courtroom.

"Your honor I move to have all charges dropped against the defendant." Perry Mason requested.

"The district attorney's office concurs." your honor.

The judge ordered the arrest of Blake Tanner and their friend Jim Drew was once again a free man.

There were lots of congratulations from everyone in the courtroom and many thanks were given to the friends who had come out from California to help

out their friends.

That night there was a big celebration dinner at Johnson St and the three friends said good-bye to Jim Carla and Barry. They promised that they would

keep in touch and would be out to see the baby once it was born.

That next day the three friends boarded the plane back to LA. It was going to be Christmas in two weeks and they had lots to do.


End file.
